Vinny Stars, But Bolts Fall To Preds

NASHVILLE - Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz had reasons to worry that his club might not be ready to face the speedy Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Predators were playing their second game in two nights and their third in four days. For the first 20 minutes Tuesday night, it appeared Trotz might be right. After shaking off a sluggish beginning, the Predators scored five times in the second period and went on to a 7-4 victory.

"I was worried about this being a trap game," Trotz said. "We got off to a little bit of a slow start. A lot of credit goes to the whole group because when you play two games back-to-back sometimes it can be real taxing this time of the year."

It was the most goals scored by the Predators in a game this season. They beat Ottawa 6-5 on Oct. 22.

"It was a little bit wide open," Trotz said. "I thought both sides got some easy goals. The score was a little higher than we usually have."

Trotz had also warned his team not to be caught off-guard by the Lightning's quickness. That speed made a difference in the first period when Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead.

"One of the things I said in our meeting was to be aware and not surprised," Trotz said. "They have great forwards. They are a quick team. Guys like Marty St. Louis have great speed, and Steve Stamkos is a great young player.

"When our legs weren't moving in the first they looked real fast. We got our legs moving in the second and they didn't look as fast."

The Predators had points from 14 players. David Legwand and Patric Hornqvist each had a goal and an assist, and Joel Ward and Marcel Goc each had two assists.

"Everyone is a lot more upbeat," Ward said. "We have more jump. We are getting more goals from different guys each night. We have to keep that ball rolling."

Vincent Lecavalier had two goals and an assist to lead Tampa Bay.

Jerred Smithson gave Nashville a 1-0 lead 6:53 into the first period. Legwand's wraparound shot was blocked, and Smithson gained control of the puck in traffic in the crease. He put a rebound past goalie Antero Niittymaki.

Stamkos tied it less than five minutes later when he skated by Shea Weber and then had the puck slip off his stick into the net. He got the puck between the pads of Nashville's Pekka Rinne at 11:35.

Lecavalier struck on the power play with 3:30 left in the period to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead. Foster passed the puck to Lecavalier just above the right circle for a slap shot that beat Rinne to his glove side.

The Predators scored twice in the first three minutes to go ahead. Legwand's goal from in front at 1:12 tied it, and Ryan Jones put in a missed shot by Nick Spaling 1:45 later to make it 3-2.

Hornqvist's goal at 12:22 prompted Lightning coach Rick Tocchet to pull Niittymaki and replace him with Mike Smith. But Smith didn't fare any better as he allowed J.P. Dumont's goal 28 seconds after he entered.

"I thought in the second we played hard," Tocchet said. "It was a tough night for the goalies. We didn't clear the front of the net, but I thought overall the guys really worked hard.

"The effort was hard. That is what I saw. I really enjoyed watching the effort. There were some goals there because we weren't clearing the front of the net. I'm sure Smitty and Niitty wish they had a couple back."

Dan Hamhuis capped off the second-period outburst with a slap shot from a few feet inside the blue-line with 3:51 remaining to put the Predators ahead 6-2.

Kurtis Foster cut the Lightning's deficit to three goals 1:52 into the third period with a power-play tally. Lecavalier made it 6-4 at 12:20.

Nashville's Martin Erat finished the scoring with 6:13 left.

"I give Tampa Bay a lot of credit," Trotz said. "They have a lot of pride. They came back and really pushed the pace in the third period.

"Teams have to play hard for 60 minutes. You can't defend like you used to do it. You can't stack the blue line and hook and hold."

NOTES: Jones has a goal in his last three games. ... Niittymaki had allowed four goals in a game four times this season, and twice in three days. Dumont hadn't scored since Nov. 28. ... Spaling, in his first game since being recalled from Milwaukee of the AHL, earned his first assist and first career NHL point. ... The Predators are 11-0 this season when Ward registers a point.--Canadian Press --

Tick-Tocc...Is Time Running Out On The Bolts' Coach?

Tampa Bay Lightning fans and bloggers alike are a fickle lot. After the circus antics of the new Hollywood cowboy ownership group and the Barry Melrose fiasco, many were screaming for “stability!” The Lightning decided to pass the coaching mantel to Rick Tocchet and they came out of the gate this season inspiring hope with a 9-12 record, good enough for third place in the Southeast division...Read more at Hockey Independent.

Blackhawks Blank Bolts

CHICAGO — Blackhawks backup Antti Niemi made 18 saves for his third shutout in seven starts this season, and Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist to lead Chicago past the slumping Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 on Sunday night.

Patrick Kane, Ben Eager and Jonathan Toews also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won three of four and improved to 6-1-1 against Eastern Conference teams.

Kane left the game with 6:59 left in the first period due to an upper body injury and didn't return. Kane landed hard after Tampa Bay's Matt Smaby tripped him along the boards and appeared to sustain a head injury either due to the impact or being hit with the puck.

Niemi, who made his eighth appearance, has started three times since Nov. 7. He allowed just one goal and posted two shutouts in those games.

Antero Niittymaki stopped 25 shots for the Lightning, 0-3-1 in their last four. Tampa Bay has scored just 13 goals in its 1-6-2 slide.

Both teams continued to struggle on the power play. Tampa Bay went 0 for 5 and has failed on 13 straight chances. Chicago went 0 for 7 and has scored on one of its last 19 advantages.

Kane scored the lone goal of the first period at 7:42 when his high wrist shot from the right point beat Niittymaki and clanked in off the left post.

Hossa had beaten Niittymaki with a close-in move about 3 minutes earlier, but Smaby swept the puck away as it reached goal line.

Niemi made two close-in saves on Tampa Bay's James Wright 4:15 into the second. About 8 minutes into the period, the Lightning's Steven Stamkos hit the post with a shot.

Eager made it 2-0 midway through the second when he was left open at the edge of the crease and converted Hossa's centering pass. The goal was set up when Tampa Bay defensemen Matt Walker and Victor Hedman both committed to Hossa, who dished the puck to Eager from the right corner.

Hossa extended Chicago's lead to 3-0 with 15.3 seconds left in the period. While skating through the left circle, Hossa pulled Patrick Sharp's deflected centering pass from the air, dropped it to the ice, and whacked the puck past Niittymaki.

Toews made it 4-0 at 6:01 of the third when he chipped in a rebound of Dustin Byuglien's shot from the slot.

Niittymaki made a pad save on Troy Brouwer's penalty shot with 1:40 left in the third. Brouwer was awarded the attempt after being pulled down by Hedman.

NOTES: Tampa Bay D Lukas Krajicek and D David Hale were healthy scratches for the second straight game. ... Chicago D Jordan Hendry was a healthy scratch. ... Actor Jim Belushi dropped the ceremonial first puck. The crowd of 21,081 was the Blackhawks 67th straight sellout. --Associated Press --

My take

The Lightning has now lost eight of its last nine games and are in real trouble. Every game seems to start well and then everything goes wrong. The Bolts have tickled the twine just 13 times in those nine contests.

The Bolts are playing offensively on the outside and not going to the net for better scoring chances. Because they are staying outside, they are not drawing many penalties. (20 in the last six games)

You can’t fire the players so let’s put Tocchet on the hot seat right now.

Line of the night: 19:02 ice time, 0 shots, 0 points, -3. Guess who? V4

Bolts Waste Another Great Goaltending Performance

DENVER -- Wojtek Wolski scored the only goal in a shootout, Craig Anderson stopped all three Tampa Bay shots and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Lightning 2-1 on Friday night.

Wolski had the Avalanche's only regulation goal, and Anderson made 21 saves to help Colorado snap a three-game home losing streak.

Antero Niittymaki made 33 saves, and Steve Downie scored for Tampa Bay. The Lightning have lost seven of their last eight.

Colorado avoided its second straight 1-0 loss after putting a lot of pressure on Niittymaki in the third. Paul Stastny skated down the left boards and his centering pass to the front of the net banked off a driving Wolski with 7:49 remaining. It was Wolksi's 12th goal of the season.

The Lightning scored first when the Avalanche couldn't control two rebounds. Anderson saved shots by Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, but the second rebound came out to Downie, who wristed a shot into the open net with 7:48 left in the first period for his sixth goal of the season.

The Avalanche had a chance to tie with a power play late in the period but couldn't capitalize on the man advantage.

Both teams had several good chances to score in the second period. Colorado nearly tied it midway through the second period on a shot by Paul Stastny, but Niittymaki got his shoulder on the puck.

The Avalanche continued to put pressure on the Lightning but couldn't get the equalizer. Tampa Bay had a chance to take a two-goal lead with an odd-man rush late in the frame, but Anderson made a save on Lecavalier to keep Colorado within a goal.

Tampa Bay took consecutive minors early in the third period, giving Colorado two power-play opportunities. Although they had six shots on goal with the man advantage the Avalanche couldn't cash in.

NOTES: Niittymaki was briefly attended to late in the first period after stopping a shot by Ryan O'Reilly. Niittymaki stayed in the game. ... Colorado went more than 154 minutes between goals at home, a span of three games. ... The Avalanche have not allowed a power-play goal in their last four games, killing of 10 penalties. -Associated Press -

My Take

Vincent Lecavalier, Stephane Veilleux and Alex Tanguay failed to score on Craig Anderson in the shootout. The Bolts are now 1-for-6 in shootouts this season. Our shooters stink! They are a dismal 2-for-22 in shootouts.

The Lightning wasted another stellar performance by Antero Niittymaki who saved 33 of Colorado's 34 shots. The Avalanche had an 18-4 shot advantage in the third period and scored on a fluke shot that bounced off of Wojtek Wolski's body. It really doesn't matter who is in the net if the Bolts can't hold a lead or win a shootout.

Games always have a turning point and that point occurred with 1:37 left in the second period when Vinny failed to finish on a two-on-one with Steve Downie. Vinny missing again! I guess the stick was being "squeezed" and he had trouble with his "vision" again. The Lecavalier shot was the Bolts first shot on goal in over nine minutes of play!

Hey Bolt Fans! Your Franchise Is On Life Support!

James Mirtle brings us the doom and gloom that is Lightning hockey in his latest post at From The Rink:

"Attendance figures provided by Hillsborough County — an average turnstile count of 10,576 through the first 12 games at the 22,000 capacity St. Pete Times Forum — indicate a difficult environment, especially considering ticket and concession sales are the lifeblood of NHL franchises.

Officially, Tampa Bay entered Wednesday with an average announced crowd of 14,470, 24th in the 30-team league, and it drew an announced 13,477 against the Oilers. But as is customary in the NHL, those numbers include tickets sold and distributed. The county's number is fans in the building."

Read more here...

These are staggering numbers! I have many friends who are Lightning ticket sales representatives and I can tell you that their number one priority recently is to give away as many tickets as possible. Some have even used social media sites such as facebook and twitter to tell friends to call them and they would be "hooked up" or "taken care of!" I can see this at every Lightning game. The upper sections are packed with people, while the lower, more expensive ticket areas are empty.

I believe this is a viable hockey market, but people are not going to show up to watch a loser.

That "C" word is floating around again. Let's hope that contraction isn't the only way out of this.

St. Louis Gets His Kicks On The Ice

NHLPA.com has a nice article on the Lightning's Marty St. Louis: "As a kid, Martin St. Louis found sporting success on grass and ice. But the 'Bolts big-time talent eventually gave up scissor-kicks for slap-shots, a move he definitely does not regret.

Throughout his organized soccer career, St. Louis earned a reputation as a consistent contributor and team player, a midfielder that depended on speed and savvy to outwit the opposition time and again."

Read more here...

Why Vincent Lecavalier Won't Be Traded

For months now I have been reading tweets on Twitter and updates on facebook from bloggers that insist the Lightning are looking to trade Vincent Lecavalier. Where are these people getting their information from? Does it even exist or is it of the made up variety? Unfortunately, I fear it is the latter. Now, highly respected Fox Sports hockey columnist Lyle Richardson aka "Spector" of Spector's Hockey tells us why Vinny won't be dealt.

"Yep, it's back, another round of speculation suggesting Vincent Lecavalier might be playing his final season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Much of it centers around Lecavalier's apparent unhappiness this season adversely affecting his performance. It's been suggested he no longer trusts the Lightning front office, and with Steven Stamkos emerging as a star the Bolts might no longer need Lecavalier as they once did as their offensive leader and franchise player.

All of this is merely speculation, possibly stirred up by columnists looking for something to write about given the lack of trade activity at this point in the NHL season."

Read more here...

Spector, as is his usual, is right on point and I would be shocked to see Vinny traded anywhere. Many irresponsible bloggers have claimed to have "inside" information that Lecavalier will be moved. Some have even suggested that they've spoken to the Lightning captain and he wants to be moved. I have asked for their sources and, of course, have heard nothing back. Our friend John Fontana over at Raw Charge put it best: "If it ain't on Spector's, it's most likely pulling stuff from thin air. That's how it's been on the Internet with hockey trade rumors for a long time."

AGREED, John!

Remember. Those claiming to have "spoken with" or having been "told by" someone, should have no problem quoting them or revealing who they are. If they balk at this, their integrity should be questioned.

Listless Lightning Lose

TAMPA, Fla. - Alex Ovechkin was impressive after a one week absence.

Ovechkin scored two goals in his return from a two-game suspension and the Washington Capitals beat the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 12th consecutive time, 3-0 on Monday night.

"The first period I was just trying to get into the game," Ovechkin said. "I understand I didn't play for two games, so I think my teammates did a great job trying to get the puck to me."

Ovechkin was suspended by the NHL following a kneeing penalty Nov. 30 against Carolina. Both of his goals came during the Capitals' three-goal second.

"I thought he was a little rusty and he wasn't moving his legs, as most us weren't in the first period," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We started moving our legs, we started getting chances to score."

Semyon Varlamov, who turned aside a spinning backhander by Vincent Lecavalier in the second, finished with 26 saves. The Washington goalie is 12-1-2 with two shutouts this season.

"I think the world will start to get to know him as the season progresses," Boudreau said of the 21-year old Varlamov. "He's going to be a special athlete."

Eric Fehr also scored for Capitals, who set a team record with the 12-game winning streak against the Lightning. Washington won 11 in a row against the New York Islanders from March 1998 to March 2000.

"We have a good roll against them," Capitals right wing Chris Clark said. "But any game can go any way, so I don't think it shows that much."

Tampa Bay has lost five of six. Some of the Lightning's top players, including Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, played limited shifts during the third.

Lightning coach Rick Tocchet did not take part in a post-game media session, and was replaced by associate coach Rick Wilson.

Wilson didn't know why Tocchet sat down the key players.

St. Louis said "No, obviously" when asked if the core players provided enough production.

"We were pretty good in the first. The second and third we just stopped playing and didn't do the things we were talking about," Lightning defenceman Andrej Meszaros said.

Ovechkin put Washington ahead 1-0 from the left circle off a pass through the slot from Alexander Semin at 7:39 of the second. He made it 3-0 on a power-play goal with 24.1 seconds left in the second.

The Capitals went up 2-0 on Fehr's goal at 12:32 of the second. He has five goals and 10 points during a career-high seven-game point streak.

Boudreau is 12-0 against the Lightning. The Eastern Conference-leading Capitals have a six-game winning streak.

NOTES: Tampa Bay hasn't beaten Washington since Nov. 16, 2007. ... Capitals D Shaone Morrisonn (concussion) returned after missing eight games. ... Semin had two assists and has six assists and eight points in his last three games. He has 10 multipoint games this season. ... Washington RW Matt Bradley left the team to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. ... The Capitals assigned D Karl Alzner to Hershey of the AHL. -- Canadian Press --

Bolts Blank Isles

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Rookie defenseman Victor Hedman scored his first NHL goal and Mike Smith made 30 saves to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning past the New York Islanders 4-0 on Saturday night.

Hedman, taken second in this year's draft after the Islanders chose center John Tavares with the No. 1 pick, scored from the low slot off a pass from Vincent Lecavalier to make it 4-0 with 9:29 left in the third.

Smith recorded his first shutout this season and ninth in the NHL. Ryan Malone, Steve Downie and Jeff Halpern also scored for the Lightning, who stopped a four-game losing streak.

Hedman and Tavares faced each other for the first time in the NHL.

Malone put the Lightning ahead 1-0 with his 16th goal this season, coming on an in-close rebound at 1:35 of the first. Downie's rebound power-play goal made it 2-0 with 51.4 seconds left in the first.

New York had just one shot during a 1 minute, 21 second 5-on-3 power play during the opening period. The Islanders finished 0 for 6 on the power play and have converted two of their last 37 opportunities.

Tampa Bay took a 3-0 lead when Halpern scored during a power play at 2:58 of the third.

The Islanders had potential goals disallowed due to a hand pass and goalie interference.

NOTES: Islanders G Rick DiPietro (knee) had his first game action since Jan. 2, starting for Bridgeport of the AHL. DiPietro, taken off injured reserved and loaned to Bridgeport on Thursday, stopped 10 of 13 shots over two periods against Springfield. ... Lightning RW Martin St. Louis had two assists after going pointless in four games. He has 25 assists and 30 points in 28 games this season. --Associated Press --

Vinny Steals The Dough

Hey Lightning fans! Let’s play a game of, “Who am I?” Shall we?

I have scored just six goals in my last 34 games.

I am on pace to score 16 goals this season, despite leading my team in shots on goal.

I have almost as many penalty minutes as points this season.

I played left wing for the first time in my career against New Jersey last night.

What’s your answer? Todd Fedoruk? James Wright? Steve Downey? Zenon Konopka? Read more...

Bruins Bury Bolts

BOSTON (AP) -- Marc Savard celebrated his new seven-year contract extension by scoring his 200th NHL goal, and Marco Sturm scored twice in 2:33 to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night.

Tim Thomas stopped 39 shots to give the Bruins their sixth victory in seven games. He was making his second straight start since missing six games with an undisclosed injury.

Mark Recchi had three assists, and Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron had two apiece to help Boston move back into first place in the Northeast Division. Savard has five goals and six assists in his last 11 games.

Boston led 4-0 after two periods before Jeff Halpern scored Tampa Bay's only goal 1:27 into the third period. Mike Smith made 35 saves for the Lightning, who lost for the fourth time in five games. --Associated Press --

Lightning Shutout By Young Aves

TAMPA, Fla. -- Matt Duchene credits his recent success to good karma.

Duchene had two goals and Craig Anderson made 33 saves to lead the Colorado Avalanche past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 on Monday night.

"Some luck may be coming back my way," the rookie center said. "I've been playing better, too."

Duchene put Colorado up 1-0 at 8:16 of the first. His power-play goal from in-close made it 2-0 with 6:22 left in the second.

"An 18-year old that went to the net and got two goals," Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet said.

Duchene, taken third in this year's entry draft, has four goals and seven points over his last seven games. He has six goals and 14 points overall.

"At the beginning of the season I had a ton of opportunties and I don't think I was used to shooting on NHL goalies," Duchene said.

Anderson stopped a good scoring chance by Steven Stamkos 24 seconds into the game en route to his third shutout this season and 10th overall. He has opened the season by starting 26 of Colorado's 28 games.

"I just saw the puck really well and just found ways to stay in control," Anderson said. "Playing my game, not trying to do too much."

Tampa Bay goalie Antero Niittymaki had 26 saves. The Lightning dropped to 6-2-4 at home.

"Tonight was definitely not good enough," Tampa Bay right wing Martin St. Louis said. "They were more hungry for these two points than we were, especially early on."

Wojtek Wolski added an empty-net goal at 19:46 of the third for Colorado.

Chris Stewart assisted on both of Duchene's goals. The Avalanche are 6-0-0 against the Eastern Conference this season.

The Lightning had 16 shots in the third, including one late in the period by Stephane Veilleux that Anderson make a diving glove save on.

"I thought our defense did a great job," Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. "When Andy was tested, he made the big save for us."

Colorado defenseman Adam Foote left with 4:06 left in the second after it appeared he was hit in the leg by a shot. He returned in the third.

Game notes
Colorado RW Milan Hejduk missed his second straight game due to a knee injury and is listed as day to day. ... Lightning D Mattias Ohlund returned after sitting out the previous seven games with an ankle injury. ... Avalanche LW T.J. Galiardi (back) was in the lineup after missing one game. ... Tampa Bay reassigned D Mike Lundin to Norfolk and recalled D Matt Smaby from the AHL team from a conditioning assignment. --Associated Press --

Dallas Downs Lightning In OT

DALLAS — Tom Wandell scored at 2:12 of overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.

Tampa Bay rallied from two goals down to send it to overtime, and Wandell ended it with a sharp-angle shot from the edge of the right circle off Loui Eriksson's pass.

Stephane Robidas and Jere Lehtinen scored power-play goals during a 71-second span of the second period, and Brenden Morrow added a third-period power-play goal to give Dallas a 3-1 edge.

But Dallas couldn't hold the lead with less than 5 minutes left in regulation as the Lightning tied it on goals by Steve Stamkos and Jeff Halpern in a stretch of 47 seconds.

Stamkos scored his 17th of the season on the power play at 15:06, and Halpern drew Tampa Bay even on a backhander off a rush down the left side at 15:53 of the third.

Former Tampa Bay star Brad Richards had two assists for Dallas.

Paul Szczechura also scored for Tampa Bay, and former Stars backup Mike Smith made 34 saves for the Lightning. Alex Auld stopped 25 shots for the Stars.

Both teams were weary after playing Friday night. The Lightning beat the New York Rangers at home 5-1 in one of their best efforts of the season, while the Stars lost 5-2 on the road to the Phoenix Coyotes in one of their worst.

Tampa Bay played its third game in four nights and sixth in the last 10. Dallas was in action for the seventh time in 11 nights.

The Lightning got the game's first goal at 6:18 of the second on Szczechura's wrist shot from the left circle off a 2-on-1 break following a turnover by Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen.

The Stars skated 5-on-3 when Robidas tied it at 1 at 15:44 of the second period with a one-timer from the top of the right circle.

Dallas had another 5-on-3 later in the second and the Stars grabbed a 2-1 lead at 16:55 when Lehtinen struck from the left of the net for his 499th career point just as the two-man advantage expired.

Morrow set up in front of the net and converted Jamie Benn's centering pass at 3:34 of the third period for Dallas' third power-play goal in its first four chances.

NOTES: Dallas' three power-play goals were a season-high and matched the most allowed by Tampa Bay this season. ... Richards has 25 assists in 26 games. ... The Stars recalled LW Fabian Brunnstrom from the AHL Texas Stars and activated C Brian Sutherby off IR. Brunnstrom was in the lineup while Sutherby was a healthy scratch. ... Tampa Bay D Mattias Ohlund is close to returning after missing seven straight games (ankle). -- Associated Press --

My take

The Bolts battled back to tie the Stars with two goals in the last five minutes of regulation to salvage a point. They were not as sharp as in last nights victory where they played their best game of the year, but they showed resilience and determination.

Bolts Put In Best Effort So Far. Rout Rangers 5-1

TAMPA, Fla. – Kurtis Foster had two goals, Steven Stamkos added his team-high 16th and the Tampa Bay Lightning routed New York 5-1 on Friday night, spoiling Rangers coach John Tortorella's first game against his former team.

Tortorella, fired by Tampa Bay following the 2007-08 season, spent seven seasons with the Lightning, leading them to the 2004 Stanley Cup title.

Marty St. Louis had three assists, and Steve Downie and Paul Szczechura also scored for the Lightning. Mike Smith made 26 saves, allowing only Ryan Callahan's late third-period goal.

Stamkos scored 6 minutes into the game, beating Henrik Lundqvist with a wrist shot off a pass from St. Louis. Rookie defenseman Victor Hedman also assisted on the goal.

The Lightning added two power-play goals against a Rangers team that has the top-ranked penalty-killing unit in the NHL.

Foster scored on a slap shot in the first period, and Downie added his third goal of the season 8 minutes into the second.

Szczechura scored his first goal on the season on a second-chance shot, after picking up the rebound from James Wright's initial shot.

Lundqvist gave up four goals on 22 shots before giving way to backup Steve Valiquette with 7 minutes left in the second.

NOTES: Lightning D Matt Smaby was optioned to Norfolk for a conditioning assignment. ... Lightning D Mattias Ohlund missed his second straight game because of a lower-body injury ... Rangers D Wade Redden was scratched Friday with a shoulder injury. --Associated Press --

My take:

This was an old time hockey game. The Lightning played physical, tough hockey and dominated in every way. They won the battles along the board and pounced on the puck quickly in the offensive zone.

The boys are starting to meld. They are standing up for one another.

Kurtis Foster should now become an ex-defenseman. He scored two goals for the second time in his career.

Defenseman Andrej Meszaros is playing like the Bolts had hoped he would. He is taking a leadership role on the blue line.

Marty St. Louis is doing all of the little things and leading this team. Marty was the first star of the game.

Vinny seems to be playing with a little more grit and back-checked superbly.

Matt Walker has become a physical presence on the ice.

Lowly Leafs Outlast Lightning

TAMPA, Fla. -- A strong defensive third period helped the Toronto Maple Leafs get a rare win.

Niklas Hagman had two goals, and Matt Stajan scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period to lead the Maple Leafs past the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Wednesday night.

Toronto goalie Jonas Gustavsson made 28 saves, including six in a scoreless third.

"The whole third period, I think, that was the best play we've shown so far this season when we've had the lead," Gustavsson said. "We took total control of the game."

Nikolai Kulemin also scored to help the Maple Leafs improve to 5-11-7. Rookie defenseman Carl Gunnarsson had three assists in his sixth career NHL game.

"It feels like we're getting our legs under us a little bit better," Hagman said. "We're creating more chances."

Tampa Bay got goals from Andrej Meszaros, Vincent Lecavalier and Ryan Malone. The Lightning, 5-1-4 at home, were the last Eastern Conference team without a home loss in regulation.

"Coming back from the road trip I knew it was going to be a grind for us," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said. "I think a couple guys looked tired, but we hung in there. We weren't mentally sharp."

Tampa Bay returned home after a 2-1-1 road trip.

Stajan gave Toronto a 4-3 lead with a second-period breakaway goal with 1:47 remaining. Gunnarsson set up the goal with a long pass.

"I didn't really see him," Gunnarsson said. "I just tried to get the puck out of our zone because there was like two or three guys on my side. Kind of lucky."

The Maple Leafs took a 3-2 advantage 1:20 into the second on Hagman's second goal of the game. Malone got the Lightning even at 3 on his 15th goal this season at 7:51.

After falling behind 2-0 early on, Tampa Bay tied it at 2 on goals by Meszaros and Lecavalier coming 30 seconds apart late in the first. Meszaros scored from the right circle at 14:14 on a power play before Lecavalier's rebound goal with 5:16 to go in the period.

Kulemin put Toronto ahead 1-0 at 6:45 of the first. It was just the fourth time this season the Maple Leafs scored the game's first goal.

Hagman made it 2-0 with 8:06 left in the first.

Gustavsson came up big 36 seconds into the game by stopping a shot by Martin St. Louis, who had skated into the slot all alone.

"We got some good bounces and we finished the way we should," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said.

Notes
Hagman has a goal in three consecutive games. ... Tampa Bay recalled D Mike Lundin from Norfolk of the AHL. ... Toronto C Wayne Primeau picked up his first assist in 30 games -- dating to Nov. 1, 2008 -- on Kulemin's goal. ... Lightning D Mattias Ohlund (ankle) missed his fifth straight game, but could be back in the lineup soon. ... Toronto has held the lead four times at the end of the second period this season. ... Lightning C Steven Stamkos had two assists.-Associated Press -

Steven Stamkos has 31 goals since Feb. 17. The 31 goals in 48 games sits only one behind Ovechkin (32) and ties him with Rick Nash