Friday night could not have gone better for the Tampa Bay Lightning and their AHL affiliate. The Lightning won a hard-fought game against the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1. Nikita Kucherov had a hat trick and recorded four points as he moved past Vinny Lecavalier into third place all-time in points for the franchise. Meanwhile, the Crunch defeated the Utica Comets, 5-0, behind goals from Niko Huuhtanen, Max Groshev, Dylan Duke, and Dyllan Gill (x2). Brandon Halverson stopped 26-of-26 for the shutout.
For Duke, Gill, and Huuhtanen, the goals they scored were their first AHL goals.