UPDATE 9:07 p.m.: The Stanley Cup title defense lives on for the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a wild, high scoring affair in Game 4, the Bolts put the clamps on the Carolina Hurricanes In Tuesday's Game 5, winning 2-0 and silencing a boisterous crowd in Raleigh. With the win, the Lightning closed out the second round series 4-1. They will meet either the Boston Bruins or NY Islanders in the Stanley Cup semifinals. That series will resume Wednesday night.

ORIGINAL STORY:

RALEIGH, N.C. — The sweep is gone but the Tampa Bay Lightning can still dispatch the Carolina Hurricanes in somewhat swift fashion with a win Tuesday night.

The Lightning are looking to end the series and move on to the Stanley Cup semifinals. A Tampa Bay win tonight sends the Lightning to the Stanley Cup semifinals for the fifth time in seven seasons.

Tampa Bay and Carolina are coming into Game 5 off a wild previous game that saw the Lightning take a 6-4 win. The squads combined to score eight goals in the second period of Game 4.

Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos each had two goals and an assist in the Game 4 win.

The Lightning prioritized defense over scoring on the way to winning their second Stanley Cup title last season.

The reigning champions still feel that’s the recipe for success in the playoffs, however that doesn’t mean one of the NHL’s most skilled offensive teams won’t instinctively change gears and revert to old ways when needed.

“There was a time we were kind of the greatest show on ice a few years ago, and many times those ended up in disappointing playoff outs,” coach Jon Cooper said.

“Probably why we’ve had success the last couple of years is because we’ve had the ability to win different ways. If you want to get into a shootout, we have a group that can do it that way,” he said. “But that’s not ideal. We really have this belief that it’s what you keep out of your net, not how much you put in the other net. We try and live by that.”

The Hurricanes will have to win three straight to come back and win the series, a daunting task considering Tampa Bay is 10-0 in games following a playoff loss since beginning its 2020 Stanley Cup run.

“We’ve been in multiple situations throughout the runs that this core has been through. We’ve seen it all. Nothing’s going to really surprise this group,” Stamkos said. “At that point, you have to realize why you’re down and change some things on the fly.”

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.