Fedotenko's goal ties division foe Hurricanes

ESTERO -- There is something nice about outplaying a division foe, especially when it went to last season's Stanley Cup final.

The Lightning and Hurricanes tied at 3 Tuesday night at TECO Arena.

Left wing Ruslan Fedotenko tied the game with 3 minutes, 2 seconds left in regulation, beating goalie Arturs Irbe with a high wrist shot. Tampa Bay goalie Kevin Hodson stopped Jeff O'Neill's breakaway with a glove save with 20 seconds left in overtime.

Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning, which outshot the Hurricanes 30-22 but were stymied by Irbe.

"It's nice to play against a team, to know they went to the finals, and we played pretty good," Fedotenko said. "We have to take the positives from this game and move along."

The positives: lots of energy, especially compared with the way the team sleepwalked through Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Blue Jackets, a good forecheck, consistent play in the neutral zone and a penalty kill that went 6-for-6.

The negatives: a 1-for-8 power play and two bad lapses in the defensive zone by defensemen Nolan Pratt and Pavel Kubina. Both led to goals by Sami Kapanen, the second of which gave Carolina (1-1-1) a 3-2 lead 7:04 into the third period.

Hodson, who started the third period after Evgeny Konstantinov played the first two, made no mistake against O'Neill.

"He's an elite player in the league," said Hodson, who stopped six-of-seven shots Tuesday and 25-of-26 in his three periods work. "I watched enough of the playoffs to know he shoots high to the glove side."

"I thought we played hard and really played with a high level of intensity," said associate coach Craig Ramsay, who was behind the bench while coach John Tortorella watched from a suite. "We forechecked better and put the puck in the right place."

Even so, the Lightning (1-1-1) had a tough time beating Irbe, who made 27 saves and robbed Richards and Fedotenko.

"He can play," Ramsay said.

HELLO, MR. HEDICAN: A hip check in overtime by rookie Alexander Svitov left Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican with a hyperextened right knee and a bad attitude.

"This is how guys get hurt," Hedican said. "I mean, I'm not feeling good right now."

Svitov, through teammate Nikita Alexeev, who acted as interpreter, said he did not go for Hedican's knee.

"He put his head down and I used the chance to hit him," Svitov said. "I just put my hip down and caught him."

Carolina coach Paul Maurice said, after talking to his coaches who worked behind the bench, that Hedican's jump to avoid contact may have put him in a vulnerable position.

Still, he said of low hits, "you're starting to see more and more of them coming into the league."

ODDS AND ENDS: Tonight's game begins 30 minutes later than weekday games during the regular season. Practice at the Ice Sports Forum begins at 11 a.m. Left wing Fredrik Modin skated but did not shoot the puck. Tortorella said the tendinitis in Modin's right hand is not related to last season's wrist injury. Defenseman Jassen Cullimore (thigh) is expected to skate. Left wing Gordie Dwyer (flu) was scratched.