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 It has been about two years in the making, but he said he will
follow through on his pledge after scoring a goal.
And then scoring again.
"I thought it was getting a little too long," the 23-year-old said
of his locks. "(I had said) if I score my first goal, I would cut my
hair off."
Barberio's first two career goals provided the Lightning with extra
offense in a 5-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday at
PNC Arena.
While in the minor leagues a few years ago, Barberio said he came up
with the idea of letting his hair grow until he scored in the NHL.
He said he might find a charity cause to tie to the hair cutting,
but he will be seeing the scissors soon.
"I'll consult with my teammates and see what they think," Barberio
said. "I wasn't planning on getting the second one, either."
The Lightning struck for three first-period goals, including twice
in the first eight minutes, en route to only their second victory in
a five-game span.
Left winger Ondrej Palat, right winger Nikita Kucherov and right
winger Teddy Purcell also scored for Tampa Bay, which built a 4-0
lead.
Right winger Alexander Semin, center Eric Staal and defenseman Ron
Hainsey provided Carolina's goals.
Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop stopped a career-high 48 shots. The
Lightning managed only 24 shots on goal.
"It's one of those games you get a lot of shots (at you)," Bishop
said. "You just try to keep the guys in it."
The third Tampa Bay goal — just 15:07 into the game — caused a
Carolina goalie change, with Anton Khudobin replacing Justin Peters.
The Lightning tacked on another goal 24 seconds into the second
period when Purcell tapped in the puck after it bounced off the
boards behind the net.
"A tough night," Staal said. "We had a good start. Unfortunately, we
had to take a penalty and they capitalized right away."
Carolina reached the 50-shot mark for the first time since April
2009 against the New York Islanders.
Bishop, who had not suffered a regulation loss in a span of 14
decisions until a night earlier against San Jose, improved to
24-6-4.
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"I can keep playing," Bishop said of the recent workload. "You
win, you can keep going."
Until Barberio on Sunday, the last defenseman to score his first two
NHL goals in the same game was Slava Voynov of Los Angeles on Oct.
27, 2011, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Peters was in nets for the first time this month. He gave up three
goals on seven shots.
Khudobin has appeared in eight games in a row.
"That happens sometimes," Khudobin said. "Sometimes you have to go
in the middle of the game and try to save the puck. ... Guys played
awesome. They put up a lot of shots."
After the Hurricanes dominated the first five minutes, Tampa Bay
scored on Barberio's power-play goal. It came in his 34th career NHL
game.
Just 80 seconds after Tampa Bay built a 4-0 lead, the Hurricanes
scored on Semin's power-play goal. That gave him three goals in two
games.
Staal's goal came with 14:20 to play in the second period, making it
4-2.
"Felt like we were coming back and they get one," Staal said.
Barberio's second goal less than three minutes later restored the
Lightning's three-goal lead. That tally developed when the puck
skipped off the stick of Hurricanes defenseman Andrej Sekera.
Tampa Bay was credited with 13 first-period blocked shots compared
to one for the Hurricanes.
NOTES: With D Keith Aulie in the Tampa Bay lineup for the first time
since suffering a broken hand Dec. 5, Lightning D Victor Hedman was
scratched after he was limited to less than 17 minutes a night
earlier against San Jose. ... Hurricanes C Manny Malhotra played in
his 900th NHL game. Malhotra, 33, is in his first season with
Carolina. ... Tampa Bay RW Martin St. Louis passed Hurricanes coach
Kirk Muller a night earlier on the all-time NHL points list with
961. St. Louis sits 86th on that list, and after his first-period
assist Sunday he was three points behind Maurice "Rocket" Richard.
... St. Louis has 50 points this season. ... This was the
Lightning's only road game during a five-game stretch as they return
home to face Ottawa on Thursday night. ... Carolina plays its next
two games on the road, beginning Tuesday night at Philadelphia.
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