TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Bad Bounce For Bolts

ADVERTISEMENT

By CARTER GADDIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 28, 2007

Updated: 10/28/2007 01:22 am

TAMPA - The puck was stopped. Twice, actually. And then it wasn't.

And perfection at home slipped away from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.

Once the puck was contained - briefly - by Lightning defenseman Shane O'Brien. Once it was halted - for an instant - by Lightning goalie Johan Holmqvist.

Yet, it slipped across the goal line off the stick of Buffalo's Thomas Vanek to give the Sabres a 4-3 overtime victory and end the Lightning's season-opening home winning streak at five games.

Tampa Bay still is 5-0-1 at the St. Pete Times Forum, which drew its first sellout crowd of the young season (19,804). Still within reach is the best home start in team history, 7-0-1 in 2002.

And if they continue to play the way they did Saturday, Coach John Tortorella's team will no doubt have a decent chance to do just that.

'We played a good hockey game,' Tortorella said. 'We lost momentum at certain times, but regained it. ... I have no complaints.'

Not even, apparently, about Vanek's game-winning goal, which came on a rush with 41 seconds remaining in overtime. The goal initially was awarded to defenseman Nathan Paetsch, who flashed in front of Holmqvist and swatted at what clearly was a centering attempt by Vanek from the right wing.

No sooner had Paestch's name been announced as the goal-scorer than the P.A. boomed: 'Correction, Buffalo goal scored by Vanek.'

The voice could just as easily have called it an own-goal - although neither O'Brien nor Holmqvist were entirely to blame. It was a case in which their own effort worked against them.

In this case, it cost Tampa Bay a chance for its first 6-0-0 start at home.

'I was trying to get down and stop the pass from going across and I stopped it,' O'Brien said, 'but it went in.'

'I stopped the shot but the rebound hit our D-man and went into the net,' Holmqvist said. 'It's kind of a luck goal, but that's the way it is sometimes.'

It was the second bit of bad luck to bite the Lightning in the game's waning moments.

The first came with 2:56 remaining in regulation. That's when Vinny Lecavalier appeared to have scored his second goal of the third period - apparently giving the Lightning a one-goal lead for the second time that period, as well.

But referee Brad Meier immediately waved off the apparent power-play goal. He had spotted Lightning right wing Marty St. Louis skating a bit too close to Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller.

St. Louis said he was told the reason the goal was disallowed was because he had bumped Miller. But, St. Louis wondered allowed, wouldn't that create an interference penalty, as well?

Tortorella acknowledged that the goal should have been disallowed, but said it was at the discretion of the referee whether a penalty should have been issued.

The Lightning took a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals by Vinny Prospal (his ninth) and Michel Ouellet (his second in as many games). By the time that period was done, Buffalo had scrapped back to tie it on goals by Maxim Afinogenov and Paul Gaustad.

Lecavalier's fifth goal of the year, which came on a 5-on-3 power play with 13:46 to play, made it 3-2. Paetsch, who set up Afinogenov's goal by winning a battle on the boards with O'Brien, tied the game with 13:13 to play.

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT