Lightning start NHL's second half on down note in loss to Hurricanes

By Spectrum Sports Staff Florida

PUBLISHED 5:47 PM ET Jan. 27, 2015

Eric Staal and Justin Faulk each had a goal and an assist to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

Nathan Gerbe and Jiri Tlusty also scored and Jordan Staal had two assists to help Carolina win its third straight. The Hurricanes, 7-2-1 in their last 10, snapped the Lightning's three-game winning streak.

Carolina goalie Anton Khudobin finished with 28 saves for his sixth straight win.

Cedric Paquette and Brian Boyle scored for Tampa Bay. Ben Bishop stopped 18 shots to fall to 5-1-0 all-time against the Hurricanes.

The Lightning had won six straight in the series and nine of the previous 10 meetings.

Carolina right wing Alexander Semin was a healthy scratch for the eighth time in 12 games since Jordan Staal rejoined the lineup following his recuperation from a broken leg.

The Hurricanes led 2-1 after the penalty-free first period despite being outshot 14-7.

Eric Staal scored from the right circle on an assist from his brother Jordan just 22 seconds into the game, the puck ricocheting into the net off the stick of defenseman Anton Stralman.

Gerbe doubled the lead at 6:05, picking up the puck in the left circle and slamming it past Bishop stick-side following Brett Bellemore's blast from the right point that tipped Elias Lindholm before ricocheting off the end boards.

Paquette got the Lightning on the board at 14:05, the puck slowly sliding between Khudobin's pads off the skate of defenseman Bellemore in a crowded crease.

Faulk added a power-play goal for the Hurricanes on a blast from the high slot at 7:27 of the second.

Boyle got a short-handed goal for Tampa Bay with 5:54 left in the second, when he stole the puck from Victor Rask along the left boards and skated in untouched.

But Tlusty scored on a rush from Faulk at 7:53 of the third.

NOTES: Tampa Bay will host Detroit on Tuesday night, while Carolina will host St. Louis on Friday night ... Eric Staal's first-period goal was the Hurricanes' fastest to start a game this season, and the earliest Carolina goal since Semin scored 16 seconds into a 3-2 win at Tampa Bay on April 21, 2013. ... Carolina D Ryan Murphy was recalled from Charlotte of the AHL on Tuesday. ... C Andrej Nestrasil and D John-Michael Liles were also healthy scratches for the Hurricanes. ... Carolina D Ryan Murphy was recalled from Charlotte (AHL) earlier on Tuesday. ... RW J.T. Brown and D Luke Witkowski were healthy scratches for Tampa Bay.