Sunday, 4 a.m.
Have you heard this one before?
The Tampa Bay Lightning get off a dreadful start, an absolutely miserable start. They fall behind 2-0 in a hurry.
And, surprise, they fight back. They tie score at 2-2, and turn catastrophe into something salvageable.
Then, ignoring the opportunity to take over, they fade away to another loss.
The Bolts fell to 2-7 in their last nine games with a 4-2 loss to Carolina. It's a pattern that has become common, a fight back onto to fade in the third period.
The Bolts tied the game in the second period on goals by Charle-Edoard D'Astous and Yanni Gourde. But Carolina shut the Bolts down in the third period.
The Bolts got off only 19 shots. Tampa Bay goaltender Andri Vasileskiy allowed three goals on 34 shots.
The Bolts are in Seattle to face the Kracken at 10 p.m. Tuesday at the Climate Pledge Arena.