Tired legs hampered the Canes as they fell to the Lightning in their first meeting this season.
Facing a four-day break that will be a welcome sight to the game-weary Carolina Hurricanes, the team left themselves with some work to do before Friday night.
The Canes' three game winning streak came to an end on Sunday in front of 9,081 at PNC Arena at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who took a 4-3 decision that was not nearly as close as the score would indicate.
"I felt like we had some jump and legs, but we didn't execute particularly well," said Canes captain Eric Staal.