Raleigh, North Carolina - The Tampa Bay Lightning are in command of their NHL Central Division playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, taking Game 2 on Tuesday night.

So far in this series, the wins haven’t come easy, but the Lightning aren’t the defending Stanley Cup champions for nothing. They won 2-1 over the Hurricanes to take a 2-0 series lead. With the way they’re winning in the playoffs, they have a real chance to close out this round on home ice, with a sweep.

This is the second-straight playoff round for Tampa in which they’ve won the first two games, all on the road.

The first two games against Carolina haven't been runaways, and the results could have been very different but for Tampa’s netminder, Andrei Vasilevskiy (26), who kept the Bolts in both game. He was nearly invincible in the net, almost coming away with his third career playoff shutout.

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"To come in here and get both wins was huge. We know how hard it is to win this time of the year, period," said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, in a postgame interview with ESPN.

The guys in front of Vasilevskiy did their part. Alex Killorn broke the scoreless tie in the second period and Anthony Cirelli added another goal in the third period, which proved just enough to secure the win.

With 90 seconds to go in regulation, Andrei Svechnikov did finally get the Canes on the scoreboard with a goal to take away the shutout.

Tampa's now finds itself ever closer to a Stanley Cup Division final. The next two games in the series will be at home, giving the Bolts even more of an advantage.

If Carolina’s any superstitious, game three might be in their favor as the Lightning did lose at home then, in the previous round.

Game three is on Thursday night, from Tampa, Florida.