Carolina Hurricanes v Tampa Bay Lightning Live

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Even though some might not agree with the ‘Canes often cited contender role, barely anyone expected Carolina to struggle as badly as they did in the first week of the season. Two straight losses, including a 7-2 blowout in Boston, certainly raised a lot of questions around coach Paul Maurice’s squad. Dedicated to make peace with their irritated fans, the Hurricanes will head south to Florida to face the Tampa Bay Lightning at St Pete Times Forum on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. GMT.

After being one of the worst defensive NHL teams in 2008-09, the Lightning continued where they left off last season as they suffered a 6-3 loss versus the Atlanta Trashers in their season opener. However, it should be mentioned that the Lightning fired a total of 39 shots on Atlanta’s goal but only connected on three of them.

Carolina on the other hand used to be known for their above-average defense, but experienced the worst defensive breakdown in over a year in the aforementioned 7-2 loss versus the Boston Bruins. To make things even worse, the Hurricanes will have to play without right wing Erik Cole after an injury suffered in Boston. Recording 42 points last year, Cole proved to be a valuable player and line-mate for franchise cornerstone Eric Staal who will now have to skate with a replacement yet to be determined.

Even though most of what happened thus far does not sound promising for the Carolina Hurricanes, one should not overestimate their sloppy season start. Ultimately, the odds are still against Tampa who will have a tough time preventing the Hurricanes from clinching their ninth straight win versus the franchise from Southern Florida.

You can watch all games of the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.