Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning Hold off Hurricanes to Win Game 2, Take 2-0 Series Lead

Andrei Vasilevskiy has turned the Carolina Hurricanes into a gentle breeze. 

The star goalie made 31 saves on 32 shots in Tuesday's Game 2, again stymying the Hurricanes en route to a 2-1 Lightning victory and a 2-0 series lead for the defending champions. Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli each scored for Tampa. 

Andrei Svechnikov's goal with just 1:30 remaining in the game made for a dramatic finish, but the Lightning held on for the win. 

Vasilevskiy was pretty darn good in Tampa's Game 1 win, too, saving 37 of Carolina's 38 shots in the 2-1 win. 

The Hurricanes outshot the Lightning 32-15, outhit them 38-29 and won more faceoffs (31-29). In almost every facet of the game, they dominated. But Tampa's defense was excellent in front of Vasilevskiy, blocking 16 shots, while Carolina had 23 giveaways in the loss. 

Oh, and there was the 2-1 advantage in goals for Tampa, too. 

The Lightning made the most of their limited opportunities. Killorn opened the scoring in the second period with a missile of a wrister:

A bad giveaway by the Hurricanes set up Cirelli for Tampa's second goal in the third period, a lead that looked impenetrable with Vasilevskiy in net. 

But Andrei Svechnikov gave the Hurricanes some hope in the dying moments, cutting the deficit in half: 

The Hurricanes spent the remainder of the game pestering the Tampa net with the 6-5 advantage after Alex Nedeljkovic, but couldn't find a goal to send the game to overtime. 

When you're trying to beat Vasilevskiy, dramatic, game-tying goals are hard to come by. 

"If you'd said we were going to go to Carolina and not give up a 5-on-5 goal through two games, I'd take that all day," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper told reporters. 

The series now heads to Tampa Bay, with Game 3 on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and broadcast on USA. If the Hurricanes can't muster a road win, their season is over. 

Hurricanes fans will be hoping the first two games were simply the calm before the storm. Vasilevskiy will have something to say about that.