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Stunning Turnaround: Hurricanes Surge Past Bolts In 3rd

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By CARTER GADDIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 24, 2007

Updated: 11/24/2007 12:23 am

RALEIGH, N.C. - For two periods Friday at the RBC Center, it was business as usual for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Lightning's top line of Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis and Vinny Prospal was delivering its usual virtuoso performances, and goalie Johan Holmqvist was doing enough to control his end of things.

It added up to a two-goal lead after 40 minutes. A seventh consecutive victory against the Southeast Division leaders seemed all but assured.

But then the Hurricanes, for the first time all season, dealt a quick and effective reminder to the Lightning that there is a reason Carolina sits comfortably atop the division.

The Hurricanes stunned the Lightning with three unanswered third-period goals to win, 4-3. It ended a six-game losing streak for Carolina against Tampa Bay, and it sent a message:

After eight periods of being dominated by the Lightning this season, the Hurricanes were tired of being pushed around.

"We had them right where we wanted them for 40 minutes," said Lightning defenseman Shane O'Brien. "They're a good team. They've got a lot of veteran guys. They came out and put it to us pretty good in the third."

After being limited to 10 shots through the first two periods (three in the second period), Carolina came out energized in the third and made a slight - and not unexpected - shift in tactics.

"We started to move the puck in their end and whip it at the net, and good things can happen when you put it at the net," said Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette. "The process in the third was better."

Carolina's 12 shots in the third were a product of defensive tenacity. Where the Hurricanes had been largely passive through the first two periods, they turned up the pressure in the third.

The Lightning knew it was coming, too. What troubled Coach John Tortorella was the way the team responded to that pressure at their end of the ice.

"You know they're going to surge," Tortorella said. "You know they're going to go after us two goals down. We should be able to handle that. If we can't handle that situation, then we're in trouble."

The trouble started less than two minutes into the third, when the line of Ray Whitney, Chad LaRose and Matt Cullen buzzed all over Tampa Bay's zone and created a simple goal for Whitney to quickly trim the deficit to one.

Four minutes later, the Lightning got caught in a bad line change. Rod Brind'Amour picked up the puck in front of Tampa Bay's bench, dropped it for Justin Williams near the blue line, and Williams' wrist shot sailed over Holmqvist's right shoulder to forge a 3-all tie with 13:59 to play.

A little more than two minutes after that, the puck rolled right to Carolina's Glen Wesley at the point, and Wesley flipped a shot through a screen by Eric Staal to give Carolina the lead for good.

Much of the postgame talk centered on how the Lightning let Carolina back into the game. But they weren't blind to the fact that the Hurricanes, who had lost the first two games this season against Tampa Bay by a combined score of 11-2, were perfectly capable of taking over a game like they did.

"Of course. It's not just going to happen for them," St. Louis said. "They have to make it happen. They were skating, and we were watching."

The collapse wasted another good night for the MVP line of Lecavalier, St. Louis and Prospal, who combined for five points (two goals, three assists) and now have 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) and are a combined plus-21 in three games against Carolina.

Reporter Carter Gaddis can be reached at (813) 259-8291 or igaddis@tampatrib.com.

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