EditorsNote: Fixes Vasilevskiy's 1st name in headline; Added stat at end of 2nd graf; Changed 15 shots to 16 in next-to-last graf
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots for his first shutout of the season and Ross Colton scored a goal in his NHL debut to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-0 victory over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday afternoon.
It was the 22nd career shutout for Vasilevskiy, who improved to 11-3-1 for the season, tied for first in the NHL for wins along with Toronto's Frederik Andersen.
Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow also scored goals for the Lightning, who won for the 10th time in their past 11 home games against the Hurricanes. Tampa Bay also improved to 7-1 at Amalie Arena this season and moved into a tie for second place in the Central Division with Carolina.
Alex Nedeljkovic, who registered his first career shutout on Saturday in a 4-0 win over the Lightning, finished with 25 saves.
Colton, a fourth-round pick out of the University of Vermont in 2016, needed just two shifts to become the ninth player in Lightning history to score a goal in his debut. Victor Hedman circled behind the net on a rush and found the 24-year-old center, who was called up from Syracuse of the AHL, alone in front of the net. Colton then fired a wrist shot under Nedeljkovic to give Tampa Bay a quick lead.
Coleman made it 2-0 late in the first period with a power-play goal. The score was set up by Yanni Gourde, who sped down the right wing and found Coleman alone in the slot with a pass that Coleman redirected past Nedeljkovic's blocker side for his fourth goal of the season.
The Lightning, who held Carolina without a shot on goal for nine minutes in the second period and just 16 total over the first two periods, missed two chances to blow the game open in the middle period when Gourde's breakaway try was turned away by Nedeljkovic and Hedman missed the net on a 2-on-1 rush with Gourde.
Carolina pulled Nedeljkovic for an extra attacker with 3:07 remaining and Goodrow sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 35 seconds to go.
--Field Level Media
