Lightning play the Hurricanes, aim for 7th straight victory

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Tampa Bay Lightning (57-13-4, first in the Atlantic Division) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (40-25-7, fourth in the Metropolitan Division)

Raleigh, North Carolina; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Tampa Bay comes into a matchup with Carolina as winners of six straight games.

The Hurricanes are 22-17-4 against conference opponents. Carolina leads the Eastern Conference shooting 34.8 shots per game while averaging 3.0 goals.

The Lightning have gone 26-7-2 away from home. Tampa Bay averages 9.4 penalty minutes per game, the sixth-most in the league. Cedric Paquette leads the team serving 78 total minutes. In their last meeting on Jan. 10, Tampa Bay won 3-1. Brayden Point recorded a team-high 3 points for the Lightning.

TOP PERFORMERS: Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes with 30 goals, adding 48 assists and totaling 78 points. Teuvo Teravainen has totaled one goal and 10 assists over the last 10 games for Carolina.

LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 8-2-0, averaging four goals, 6.9 assists, 4.6 penalties and 11.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .926 save percentage.

Hurricanes: 7-2-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.5 assists, three penalties and 8.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game with a .914 save percentage.

Hurricanes Injuries: Calvin de Haan: out indefinitely (upper body).

Lightning Injuries: Anton Stralman: day to day (lower body), Dan Girardi: out (lower body).