by Brayden Point scored a goal, Victor Hedman had three assists and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves for Tampa Bay.
Jake Guentzel had two assists in his debut for the Lightning. He signed a seven-year, $63 million contract with Tampa Bay when free agency opened on July 1 after being acquired in a deal with the Hurricanes on June 30.
Jordan Staal scored for the Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen made 19 saves.
“We weren’t good and I thought (Tampa Bay) played a great game,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They closed us off and didn’t give us much space. We weren’t willing to work hard enough to get opportunities. We haven’t created anything. It was a tough night.”
Staal gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 14:32 of the first period. After Jordan Martinook took the puck from Brandon Hagel, William Carrier circled the net and passed to Staal, who slotted it in at the top of the crease.
“Our 5-on-5 game was really pretty nasty,” Staal said. “A lot of turnovers, a lot of attempts to sneak through the neutral zone when there’s nothing there.” We weren’t really ready to get involved in the rigors of everyday life and really put our foot down tonight.”
Point’s power play goal tied the score at 1-1 at 2:33 of the second period. He received a pass from Kucherov in the slot and scored the first goal.
“I think he’s the best player in the league at this point,” Kucherov said. “He can intercept any pass and put it into the net, and he did that. I’m happy for him.”
