Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa-Bay-Lightning

St. Louis’ hat trick comes at perfect time

Marty St. Louis picked the perfect way to celebrate his 900th game in the National Hockey League with a quintessential tip of the hat.

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s veteran right wing notched the fifth hat trick of his 11-career tenure with the team and his first since 2006 to power a 6-3 victory over intra-state rival and Southeast Division leading Florida Saturday night at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

“You play this thing from the beginning and just try to find your way, and to be in the league for that many games, I’m proud of that,” said the 36-year-old undrafted star out of the University of Vermont. “Tough start to get going, but once I got going I really felt that I wanted to be here for a while.”

“I worked hard to be here,” he continued, his three young sons by his side, “and now I get to share these moments with my three boys. There’s nothing like it.”

St. Louis’ heroics came less than two months after being struck in the face by a puck during practice, sustaining several fractures and missing 13 days including what would have been his milestone 500th consecutive regular-season game on the day of the injury.

But there was no denying this landmark. His effort helped give the Lightning (23-23-4) a much-needed win against the best team in the Southeast Division and raise its record to 6-0-1 in the last seven games, renewing the Bolts’ hopes for a second-half run at the playoffs.

“It’s only fitting,” said Lightning head coach Guy Boucher. “It couldn’t have happened on a better night. . (Steven) Stamkos could have shot that; it’s just a tribute to the kind of people we have on our team: real unselfish people; people who care about the group.”

In many respects, the Lightning and Panthers have been polar opposites lately.

While the Lightning soared into the All-Star break with four straight wins following a frustrating opening act in 2011-12, the Panthers stumbled through January with a mark of 2-7 after a stellar start to the season.

Coming out the break early this past week, it was the Cats who got back on track with a pair of victories to regain the division lead over the Washington Capitals while the Lightning watched its five-game winning streak end Thursday at home against Winnipeg in a 2-1 overtime loss.

But Saturday, the state rivals once again found themselves on opposite ends of the spectrum as Tampa Bay short-circuited Florida’s recent surge before an electrified sellout crowd of 19,204.

The first two of St. Louis’ scores came in a four-goal second period, which featured a handful of other noteworthy offensive showings. There was the early tie-breaking goal by team captain Vinny Lecavalier in the pivotal period marking the 12th time in his 13-year career he has reached the 20-goal mark in a season.

The score was knotted 1-1 early in the second when right wing Ryan Shannon forced a turnover. Moments later, Lecavalier flicked a wrist shot over the glove of Florida goalkeeper Scott Clemmensen at the 18:18 mark and the Lightning never lost the lead after that.

Along the way, NHL leading scorer Stamkos scored his 34th goal of the season maintaining his impressive status as the player who has scored more career goals (153) than any active player prior to his 22nd birthday ahead of Sidney Crosby (132), Jaromir Jagr (111), Iyla Kovalchuck (108) and Alex Ovechkin (98).

The Panthers threatened to get back into the game in the closing moments of the second period when ex-Lightning standout Sean Bergenheim a key performer on last season’s playoff team scored to make it 5-3 with 46 seconds remaining. But the Bolts kept the visitors at bay after that, eventually improving to 4-1-1 this season over the Panthers.

“We had a tough second period to say the least,” said Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen. “We got off to a tough start and I think we were our own worst enemy. That was certainly the difference the push they put on in the second period.”

In the process, the Bolts set a season high with six goals Saturday night and have points in seven straight for the first time since 2010. They also finished with nine points against the Panthers, the most they’ve ever accumulated in one season against them. More important, they’re eight points back of Florida with 31 games remaining, plenty of time to make up that ground the way they’re playing.

“It’s a huge two points (to pick up),” said Shannon, who contributed two assists. “We knew they had a game last night so we wanted to wear them down and we did that. And it opened up the way for Marty’s hat trick in his 900th game. And we climbed a couple of more points in the standings.”

“Maybe it’s a little fatigue back to back,” said Florida’s right wing Mikael Samuelsson, whose team defeated Winnipeg 2-1 Friday night. “But we should have been able to make a big push in the third. Still, we had a couple of chances, but they played good.”

In the end, the Lightning outshot the Panthers (24-16-11) 34-20, and Florida goalkeeper Clemmenson was pulled briefly in the explosive second period after allowing five goals on 25 shots (following Nate Thompson’s goal in the first).

Clemmenson was back in the net in the third period when St. Louis notched goal No. 3 for his memorable hat trick, extending his point streak to nine games the longest by a Lightning player this season.

“It was great,” Lecavalier said of his longtime teammate. “He played great tonight; he really battled; he deserves it. He had a great game, he really helped us out and obviously that 900th game makes it that extra special for him.”

But St. Louis didn’t miss a beat when asked about his three boys by his side: “That’s the best hat trick I’ve ever had.”

St. Louis’ hat trick leads Lightning

Martin St. Louis scored three times in his 900th NHL game, Steven Stamkos added his league-leading 34th goal and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 6-3 on Saturday night.

St. Louis got two goals during Tampa Bay’s four-goal second, helping the Lightning take a 5-3 lead entering the third. The right wing, who has six goals and 16 points during a nine-game point streak, completed the hat trick on an empty-netter during the final minute of play.

Nate Thompson and Vincent Lecavalier also scored for the Lightning, who have won six of seven. Lecavalier added three assists.

Florida got goals from Tomas Fleischmann, Mikael Samuelsson and Sean Bergenheim. The Southeast Division-leading Panthers were coming off a 2-1 win over Winnipeg on Friday night.

Stamkos scored on his own rebound to give Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead with 7:24 left in the second. The center has six goals and eight points in six games against Florida this season.

Bergenheim pulled Florida to 5-3 with 46 seconds to go in the second.

Tampa Bay went up 2-1 when Lecavalier scored his 20th goal this season from the high slot at 1:42 of the second. The Lightning captain has reached the 20-goal plateau in 12 consecutive seasons.

St. Louis extended the Lightning advantage to 3-1 when he picked up a loose puck just outside the crease and wrapped a shot around goalie Scott Clemmensen 2:40 after Lecavalier’s goal. St. Louis also scored with 4:52 left in the second off a nifty pass from Lecavalier.

Clemmensen was pulled late in the second after allowing five goals on 25 shots and was replaced by Brian Foster, who made one save over 5 minutes in his NHL debut. Clemmensen returned to start the third.

Samuelsson cut the Florida deficit to 3-2 on the rebound after Mathieu Garon made a strong stop on Bergenheim’s shot from the slot at 7:06 of the second.

Thompson put the Lightning ahead 1-0 during a 2-on-1 just 1:37 into the game. Florida tied it 1-all when Fleischmann scored from the right circle at 3:54 of the first off an backhand pass from the boards by Kris Versteeg.

Notes: This was the final game of the season series in which the Lightning went 4-1-1 … Samuelsson has four goals and five points during a four-game point streak. … Tampa Bay LW Ryan Malone, who has missed four games due to an undisclosed upper-body injury, has resumed skating.

Lightning 6, Panthers 3

Martin St. Louis scored three times in his 900th NHL game, Steven Stamkos added his league-leading 34th goal and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 6-3 on Saturday night.

Nate Thompson and Vincent Lecavalier also scored for the Lightning, who have won six of seven. Lecavalier added three assists.

Florida got goals from Tomas Fleischmann, Mikael Samuelsson and Sean Bergenheim. The Southeast Division-leading Panthers were coming off a 2-1 win over Winnipeg on Friday night.

Stamkos scored on his own rebound to give Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead with 7:24 left in the second. The center has six goals and eight points in six games against Florida this season.

Bergenheim pulled Florida to 5-3 with 46 seconds to go in the second.

Tampa Bay went up 2-1 when Lecavalier scored his 20th goal this season from the high slot at 1:42 of the second. The Lightning captain has reached the 20-goal plateau in 12 consecutive seasons.

Samuelsson cut the Florida deficit to 3-2 on the rebound after Mathieu Garon made a strong stop on Bergenheim’s shot from the slot at 7:06 of the second.

St. Louis’ hat trick helps Lightning top Panthers

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Martin St. Louis scored three times in his 900th NHL game, Steven Stamkos added his league-leading 34th goal and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 6-3 on Saturday night.

Nate Thompson and Vincent Lecavalier also scored for the Lightning, who have won six of seven. Lecavalier added three assists.

Florida got goals from Tomas Fleischmann, Mikael Samuelsson and Sean Bergenheim. The Southeast Division-leading Panthers were coming off a 2-1 win over Winnipeg on Friday night.

Stamkos scored on his own rebound to give Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead with 7:24 left in the second. The center has six goals and eight points in six games against Florida this season.

Bergenheim pulled Florida to 5-3 with 46 seconds to go in the second.

Tampa Bay went up 2-1 when Lecavalier scored his 20th goal this season from the high slot at 1:42 of the second. The Lightning captain has reached the 20-goal plateau in 12 consecutive seasons.

Samuelsson cut the Florida deficit to 3-2 on the rebound after Mathieu Garon made a strong stop on Bergenheim’s shot from the slot at 7:06 of the second.

NOTES: This was the final game of the season series in which the Lightning went 4-1-1 … Samuelsson has four goals and five points during a four-game point streak. … Tampa Bay LW Ryan Malone, who has missed four games due to an undisclosed upper-body injury, has resumed skating.

Jets 2, Lightning 1, OT

Kyle Wellwood scored 3:14 into overtime to lead the Winnipeg Jets past the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Thursday night.

Wellwood scored from in close off a left-circle pass from Blake Wheeler.

Wheeler also scored for the Jets, who had lost seven straight games at Tampa Bay dating to the team’s days in Atlanta. Ondrej Pavelec finished with 30 saves.

Victor Hedman scored and Mathieu Garon stopped 22 shots for the Lightning, who snapped a season-best five-game winning streak. Garon fell to 5-1 overall against the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise.

Hedman tied it 1-all at 10:34 of the third from the low left circle after taking a nifty neutral zone touch pass by Martin St. Louis. The defenseman snapped a personal 25-game goal drought dating to Oct. 22 against Buffalo.

St. Louis has 10 assists and 13 points during an eight-game point streak. The right wing has at least one assist in all eight games during the stretch.

Wheeler skated down the slot and put the Jets up 1-0 with 15.2 seconds to go in the second on the rebound of Jim Slater’s shot from the top of the left circle. Wheeler hadn’t scored a goal in his previous seven games.

Garon made a pad save on Bryan Little’s low slot shot, while Pavelec had a similar stop on an in-close shot from NHL goals leader Steven Stamkos during a scoreless first.

Stamkos hit the outside of the post on the rebound after Pavelec stopped St. Louis’ shot midway through the second. The Lightning outshot Winnipeg 15-7 in the second.

Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien was back in the lineup after missing the previous 16 games because of a knee injury and assisted on Wellwood’s goal. Jets center Alexander Burmistrov also returned after sitting out two games with concussion-like symptoms.

Notes: Stamkos assisted on Hedman’s goal. … Tampa Bay D Marc-Andre Bergeron (back) and RW Adam Hall (torn forearm muscle) both have resumed practicing. … Slater stopped a 26-game stretch without an assist … Lightning rookie RW Brett Connolly, who has gone pointless in 16 consecutive games, was a healthy scratch. … With the trade deadline nearing, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Dallas, Montreal and Detroit were among the teams with scouts present.

A Few More Games Will Determine The Direction The Lightning Take

from Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times, The final two games of the Lightning’s four-game home stand — and perhaps its upcoming three-game road trip — will go a long way in determining if the team buys or sells at the Feb. 27 trade deadline, GM Steve Yzerman said.

“Depending on how many points we get out of it and we see what else happens around the league, we’ll get a better indication,” he said Thursday.

Eight teams had scouts credentialed for Thursday’s game, including the Penguins, who reserved seats for pro scout Andre Savard and director of pro scouting Derek Clancy.

There have been plenty of rumors about whom the Lightning might be willing to move in trade with D Pavel Kubina, LW Ryan Malone and C Dominic Moore being mentioned most.

Kubina has been linked to the Ranges and Flames, Malone to the Kings (with the speculated return being G Jonathan Bernier) and Moore to the Penguins and Senators.

continued

Bolts look to build on newfound momentum

It’s too early to presume the Tampa Bay Lightning are poised to do something special in the second half of the 2011-12 season.

But the Bolts certainly have gotten our attention again, and that’s no small feat for a team that looked as if it was heading down the tubes barely two weeks ago.

Their 4-3 overtime victory against the visiting Washington Capitals Tuesday night at the Forum was noteworthy for several reasons.

It lifted the Lightning to a season-high fifth consecutive win on the heels of a four-game losing streak.

It pulled Tampa Bay (22-23-4) to within eight points of first-place Washington in the Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division, as well as within eight points of the final playoff spot.

And it underscored the resilience that head coach Guy Boucher’s squad had been lacking so recently: staying aggressive after blowing a 3-1 lead in the third period and winning it in OT on Steven Stamkos’ league-leading 33rd goal.

Those are all encouraging signs as the Bolts struggle to overcome a disappointing start, following last season’s amazing run to the brink of the Stanley Cup Finals.

What’s more, they are entering a friendly portion of their schedule with a chance to build on the newfound momentum: with consecutive home games Thursday against Winnipeg, Saturday against Florida and Tuesday against Los Angeles. Of those three teams, only the Kings have been playing well lately, so the Lightning have an ideal opportunity to cash in and gain more ground in the playoff hunt.

The latest breakthrough wasn’t without some glitches. Boucher lamented that his team didn’t take advantage of some open-net chances during the game that might have prevented it from going to overtime. And by letting the Caps back into the contest late with an OT period, Tampa Bay did give its division foe a point in the standings something that could become a factor down the road.

But all things considered, Lightning players couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.

“We’re playing a lot of big games right now,” Stamkos said. “We gave Washington one point and we got to catch some other teams as well. We’re going to take every point that we can get.”

If the Lightning win Thursday against division-made Winnipeg (one spot ahead at 23-22-4), it will match the six-game winning streak from last year at just about the same time: Jan. 18-Feb. 1. And the confidence that has been spreading could keep fueling the team’s resurgent efforts.

“(The streak is) a good sign for us, but we still got a lot of hockey left and some big games coming up,” said forward Nate Thompson, who had his first two-goal game of the season Tuesday. “We’re at home a lot which is good for us because we usually play pretty well at home if we can just manage it, keep playing our game and keep on scoring.”

The Lightning got a lift with the return of defenseman Victor Hedman, back after missing 13 games due to a concussion, and other recently injured players Ryan Shannon (knee), JT Wyman (hand) and Tom Pyatt (leg) also were back.

But an even bigger lift came from goalkeeper Mathieu Garon, whose 26 saves made the difference. In fact, two of his key saves and a quick feed to Marty St. Louis helped get the game-winning score by Stamkos in gear.

“I don’t believe much in tipping points,” Boucher said. “I believe in every second and every moment to turn things around. Even when they scored that third goal, I kept saying on the bench Be in the moment. Be in the moment. It’s not about what just happened, it’s about what we’re going to do next.’ Then we pushed overtime and we didn’t hold back. We didn’t skate to lose, we were playing to win.”

The Lightning improved to 7-4-0 in game that have gone past regulation (5-1 in overtime and 2-3 in shootouts). The Bolts are even more effective in one-goal games this season, with a mark of 13-2-4.

The challenge ahead remains daunting, given how much ground they have to make up. Last year, their record after a comparable number of games was 29-15-5. But clearly the team that struggled so much with poor defense and inconsistent offense is starting to believe in itself again. And there’s more than enough hockey left on the schedule for something special to take place.

At least for now, musing about playoff chances no longer seems like an act of futility.