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RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 26: Center Logan Stankoven (22) of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates scoring on Goaltender Jonas Johansson (31) of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the NHL game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes on February 26, 2026 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
There’s a heavyweight fight on the docket Saturday night, as the Carolina Hurricanes prepare to visit the Tampa Bay Lightning for a showdown between two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Metropolitan Division leading Hurricanes take their 41-18-6 record to Tampa to challenge the 40-20-4 Lightning, who sit two points behind the Buffalo Sabres for first place in the Atlantic Division but have a slight edge in points percentage with two games in hand.
This is a rematch from Carolina’s first game back after the Olympic break, when the Hurricanes won a wild game 5-4, though that came with Tampa Bay backup Jonas Johansson in net and not all-world starter Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The other meeting this season between the two powerhouses came on December 20, when the Bolts notched a 6-4 victory over the Canes at Benchmark International Arena.
The Lightning come in on a bit of a cold spell, having gone 4-6-0 in their past 10 games to fall behind the Sabres, but that’s not for a lack of effort on the part of Nikita Kucherov, who has gone absolutely nuclear for the past couple of months with 55 points in his last 25 games.
Tonight marks Rod Brind’Amour’s 600th game as the head coach of the Hurricanes, and as soon as the puck drops, he’ll own the record for most wins through 600 career coaching appearances, regardless of tonight’s result.
Here’s how to check out the action…
Time: 7:00 PM
TV: FanDuel Sports Network. Mike Maniscalco will handle play-by-play alongside Tripp Tracy doing color. Hanna Yates will provide off-ice reports as well as host pregame starting at 6:00 and postgame that will run for about 30 minutes after the conclusion.
Streaming: FanDuel Sports Network App for fans in the Carolinas. Outside of the area, the ESPN app has you covered as they have every out-of-market hockey game available to watch.
Radio: The pregame on 99.9 The Fan starts at 6:30. At 7:00 PM the Hurricanes Radio Nework (consisting of 99.9, 730 The Game in Charlotte, ESPN New Bern 107.5/1490, and ESPN Greenville 107.5/1570) picks up the FDSN feed. You can also stream the call on the Hurricanes app.
Odds: Hurricanes +106 Moneyline, Puckline Hurricanes +1.5 (-235)/Lightning -128 Moneyline, Puckline -1.5 (+184), O/U 6.5 (-104/-118)
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