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TAMPA, FL. - For a third consecutive contest the Carolina Hurricanes found a way to win following regulation, taking a 4-3 shootout victory from the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday.

The contest began with what may have been Carolina's best first period of the season thus far.

Including what felt like chance after chance for the club, the Canes put 15 shots onto Andrei Vasilevskiy in the opening 20 minutes. Described as "the best goalie in the league" by Rod Brind'Amour Wednesday morning, Tampa Bay's backstop was up for the test on 14 of the 15, but a quick snap release from Seth Jarvis gave the visitors the first lead of the night.

Taking their advantage into the middle frame, it was unfortunately the Canes' poise that lost them control of the affair in the second.

What could have been a four-goal period for the home team was limited to just three after an early goal from Vladislav Namestnikov was waved off due to a distinct kicking motion.

The officials are taking a look to see if this was potentially kicked in. pic.twitter.com/i9PwdmELCA

- Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) November 4, 2022

The disallowed tally would keep the bout evened for just a few more minutes, but Tampa Bay would eventually unload for three. A Ross Colton power play goal made it a 1-1 and fewer than four minutes later Nick Paul gave his club their first lead of the night.

Martin Necas temporarily stopped the bleeding with a power play goal of his own for Carolina, but before the period concluded Nikita Kucherov countered on a five-on-three for Tampa Bay.

Kucherov's fifth of the season and the go-ahead goal came when Carolina had both Jordan Martinook and Jalen Chatfield in the penalty box, each taking infractions on Colton during the same series of play.

Despite the momentum swing and cashing in on just two out of 36 shots through two periods, the Canes kept the foot on the gas for the final frame of regulation. Outshooting the opposition for a third consecutive period, hitting a total of 50 along the way, the team needed a timely effort late in the game while still down a goal.

Inside the final seven minutes of play, while shorthanded once again, Brady Skjei led a rush up the ice with Sebastian Aho and Jesper Fast. It concluded with the team forcing overtime.

Although they had another opportunity to win the game with a power play during the three-on-three, the game trudged on to the skills competition for the second time in as many games for the team.

A lengthy six rounds later, Aho and Teuvo Teravainen emerged as the heroes for Carolina.

Sebastian Aho in the moments immediately following his game-deciding goal in the shootout...

"We just stuck with it. A lot of bounces didn't go our way. It would've been an easy game to get frustrated and let it go, but we stuck with it and it was a big win."

Brady Skjei describing his all-important game-tying goal...

"I tried to break it up at our blue line and then Fishy was yelling that we had a three-on-two, so I knew I had a little bit of time. I gave the puck to him, he found me and I saw a little opening just right of the defenders shin pad and luckily it went in."

Jordan Staal offering his assessment of the contest...

"I thought we did everything well. At five-on-five I think we controlled the game completely. They got some momentum on their power play and that seems to be a common occurence here, but we found a way to battle through it. We started to play a little bit more five-on-five and everything was a little bit more solid after that."

Rod Brind'Amour ensuring that Frederik Andersen wasn't overlooked, before providing his overarching feelings on the win...

"When it mattered, he was huge. They really only had one chance in the third and it was a half breakaway. He made the save. He had to. Then obviously the shootout was huge. You know what you're getting with the other guy, Vasilevskiy, and he showed why again tonight. But I loved the way our guys played all game. It was solid, top to bottom."

The Canes will travel back to Raleigh immediately post-game, turning the page to get ready for a Friday night meeting against the Sabres.

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Everything you need to know ahead of Tampa Bay's matchup against the Bruins on Monday.

When: Monday, November 21 - 7 p.m. ET Where: AMALIE Arena - Tampa, FL TV coverage: Bally Sports Sun (check local listings) Radio coverage: 102.5 MHz-FM, Lightning Radio 24/7 Where to stream it: BallySports.com

Projected Lineup (subject to change) Forwards Brandon Hagel - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov Steven Stamkos - Nick Paul - Alex Killorn Ross Colton - Vladislav Namestnikov - Corey Perry Pat Maroon - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Rudolfs Balcers

Monday's Matchup The Lightning and the Bruins are playing the first of four matchups this season and the first of two meetings at AMALIE Arena…BOS (16-2-0) leads the NHL in wins and points this season…TBL (11-6-1) is tied for the fourth-most wins and seventh-most points in the NHL this season…TBL is 4-4-2 in their last 10 home games vs. BOS and 6-3-1 in their last 10 matchups overall…TBL posted a 1-2-1 record vs. BOS last season and went 0-1-1 on home ice…Mikhail Sergachev (0-4-4) led TBL in points and assists vs. BOS last season, while Ondrej Palat (2-1-3) and Steven Stamkos (2-0-2) were tied for the team-lead in goals…Stamkos has picked up points in six of his last eight games vs. BOS (7-3-10)…Sergachev has recorded three multi-point games over his last five games vs. BOS (1-5-6)…Brayden Point has collected points in five of his last seven games vs. BOS (3-3-6)…Brandon Hagel has scored four goals in four career games vs. BOS (4-0-4)…Andrei Vasilevskiy is 6-3-1 with a .925 save percentage and one shutout in his last 10 starts vs. BOS…TBL is 33-58-10 with nine ties all-time vs. BOS, including a home record of 22-23-6 with three ties…The .386 all-time points percentage vs. BOS is TBL's worst points percentage vs. a single franchise…Vincent Lecavalier (20-29-49) holds the TBL franchise records for career points and assists vs. BOS.

Monday's Storylines Tampa Bay is playing the first game of a two-game homestand and will play nine of their 13 games in November at AMALIE Arena…TBL is 3-0-0 against Atlantic Division opponents this season…TBL is 6-2-1 at home this season…TBL can extend their win streak to a season-long five games with a win vs. BOS.

Injuries 2022-23 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 47 Current Injuries: Anthony Cirelli (Shoulder surgery; Out) 18 Games Cal Foote (Lower-body injury; Day-to-day) 4 Games Cole Koepke (Upper-body injury; Day-to-day) 1 Game Nick Perbix (Lower-body injury; Day-to-day) 1 Game

Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game Limited Edition Thanksgiving Puck The second Holiday Puck of the 2022-23 season has arrived. Get your Limited Edition Thanksgiving Puck while supplies last at AMALIE Arena and online at TampaBaySports.com.

The Road Ahead Friday, November 25 vs. St. Louis Blues Monday, November 28 at Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, November 29 at Boston Bruins

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman spent 20-seasons as the lead NFL broadcaster team for FOX.

After failing to reach an agreement to remain at the network with his contract expired, Aikman agreed to a massive deal, one that exceeds Tony Romo's 17.5M/year with CBS, to make the switch over to ESPN to become the lead analyst for Monday Night Football.

Meanwhile, Joe Buck, who still had a year left on his deal with FOX at the time, was granted a release from his contract so that he could follow suit.

The two have since picked up right where they left off at FOX, but now they're covering the illustrious Monday Night Football matchup together each week on ESPN.

FOX was quick to announce Kevin Burkhardt, an excellent play-by-play broadcaster in his own right, as Buck's replacement as the network's lead game-caller.

Not long after, FOX sent shockwaves throughout the sports media landscape when it was announced that current Buccaneers' quarterback, Tom Brady, had agreed to a ground-breaking 10-year, $375 million contract to become the network's next in-game analyst, alongside Burkhardt, once he retires.

Recently, Joe Buck spoke with Jimmy Traina as a guest on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast, where he discussed the Brady-FOX situation. In doing so, it becomes obvious that Buck is very skeptical of Brady's future as an NFL broadcaster.

Traina, who had speculated back in January that Brady could be under consideration to replace Aikman at FOX, wanted to re-visit that prediction that has since come to fruition -- at least on paper.

Buck was dismissive of the idea when it was first suggested, so I think Traina was hoping for some sort of acknowledgement in this recent interview, when he confidently proclaimed, "Brady's at FOX now." To which Buck replied "Oh he is? Because he did a FIFA promo for the World Cup?".

Buck continues to explain why he has reservations when asked whether there's a chance that Brady walks away from the massive contract before it ever begins.

"Is there a chance? Yeah, I think there's a chance. Who knows where his family life takes him, who knows if he plays one more year or he doesn't. I know there are people at FOX who would say there's a chance that he doesn't call a game there."

Based on how unpredictable Brady's life has been these past few years, it's hard to criticize Buck for questioning the quarterback's decade-long commitment to a career as a TV broadcaster.

Or maybe Joe Buck is a little sour about the way his and Troy Aikman's role with FOX came to such an abrupt end.

Regardless, it sure seems like Tom Brady will have the opportunity to make a lot of money calling football games once his playing career comes to an end.

We can debate how he well-suited he is for that opportunity when the time comes.

But for now, there's not really a point. because as it stands, Tom Brady has plenty more touchdown passes to throw, and hopefully games to win, for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, first.

For more on this, and continuing coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, make sure to follow Collin Haalboom on Twitter, and catch all of his video content on the Bucs Banter YouTube channel!

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the season.

Every year there are changes to coaching staffs around the league, especially at head coach. NFL teams search high and low to find the next big thing. For the previous two seasons, the Bucs had a desirable coaching staff given their success, but even after struggling to a 5-5 record this season, they might have a coordinator who is running his own team next season.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL network came up with a list of candidates to next become a head coach and Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich was on it. Here’s what Pelissero had to say about Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator.

Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich, 42: Leftwich got a long look as a head coaching candidate last year, interviewing with the Jaguars and Bears and getting a request from the Saints. The 10-year NFL quarterback was a backup in Pittsburgh under then-offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who hired Leftwich as QB coach in Arizona in 2017 and brought him along to Tampa two years later to serve as OC. The Bucs’ offense hasn’t been as prolific this season, but it shouldn’t be forgotten how dangerous the attack was in Leftwich’s first three seasons, which included Tampa’s run to a Super Bowl LV victory once Tom Brady came aboard.

Stock Dropping For Leftwich Amid Bucs’ Struggles

Leftwich has come under a lot of scrutiny for Tampa Bay underperforming on offense this season. The Bucs went from averaging 30 points for a long time last season to currently averaging 18.3 points per game this year. Some of the reasons that Leftwich has come under fire is due to predictable play calling, a lack of creativity and making poor decisions on first down calls and in pivotal, situational moments. His responses to said criticism hasn’t done him many favors either.

As Pelissero points out, Leftwich did meet with some teams last season and nearly became the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Leftwich still has many of his core players available, but with no Ryan Jensen, Ali Marpet, Antonio Brown or Rob Gronkowski available, was it the players that catapulted Leftwich to look so good over the last two seasons or does Leftwich deserve the credit for getting the most out of his players? Looking at the issues this season, you may have your answer. There’s no question his stock to get a head coaching job took a hit through the Bucs’ first 10 games.

More Bucs Coaches To Watch:

Pelissero also compiled a long list of assistant coaches to keep an eye on in future seasons. There were two Bucs coaches that got mentioned, which were co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, Larry Foote, and assistant wide receivers coach Thaddeus Lewis.

We’ll see how the rest of the season goes in Tampa Bay. They are coming out of the bye week with a two-game winning streak and a bit of momentum after defeating the Seahawks, who lead their division. But if the Bucs regress and the same issues continue for this team, changes might be made, and not because coordinators and assistants are getting elevated gigs somewhere else.

In a season that has been full of negative storylines, could the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally be turning a bit of a corner?

It's too early to tell.

But coming off of back-to-back victories for the first time since the season began, there's no denying that the Buccaneers have at least a little bit of momentum as they head to Cleveland to face the Browns next Sunday at 1:00 pm ET.

The bye week is a much-needed break for every player on the roster, but it's especially timely for players such as Antoine Winfield Jr., Julio Jones, and Akiem Hicks, all of whom have missed games recently due to injury.

The same could be said for free agent acquisition, Russell Gage, who has missed multiple games, at various points of the season, due to a nagging hamstring injury. As a result, he hasn't made the sort of impact at the wide receiver position that was expected heading into 2022.

One player who's absence from the team has slid under the radar though is Giovani Bernard. The veteran running back, currently in his second season with the Buccaneers, has only appeared in two games this season due to an ankle injury.

But earlier today, the team announced that Bernard has been designated to return from the injured reserve, and can be added to the active roster at any time over the next three weeks.

Known as a steady third-down specialist, with proven production as a runner, receiver, and blocker, Bernard brings experience, leadership, and a little extra juice to a Tampa Bay backfield that has been one of the worst in the league.

Bernard hasn't made much of an impact during his time as a Buc, but that doesn't mean his skill-set couldn't be of assistance to the current group.

In 9 NFL seasons (7 with the Bengals) Bernard has accounted for 3, 755 rushing yards, 2, 990 receiving yards, and 46 total touchdowns. He's a well rounded player, but it's Bernard's ability to stand up to pressure in pass protection combined with his sure-handedness as a receiver, that give him the best chance at contributing in some capacity this season.

With rookie, Rachaad White, coming off a breakout performance in Munich, and Leonard Fournette motivated to re-establish his reputation as a legitimate bellow running back, it feels like the Bucs' backfield is in the midst of some healthy competition.

Whether or not Gio Bernard is able to find a role within it, will remain to be seen. But there's no doubt that a little more competition amongst the group certainly won't hurt.

For more on this, and continued coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, make sure to follow Collin Haalboom on Twitter, and check out the Bucs Banter YouTube channel!