The Tampa Bay Lightning entered Saturday night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with the chance to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite a hard-fought comeback effort, they were undone by a couple of unlikely goals and lost 3-2 in overtime. With Boston winning against Ottawa, the Lightning now need help from the Florida Panthers. Should their in-state rivals beat the Bruins in regulation or overtime/shoot-out, then the Lightning are the top seed. If the Bruins win, they leapfrog the Lightning.
The Lightning’s line-up against the Hurricanes featured a few changes.