TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Lightning rally, beat Wild in shootout

The Associated Press

Lightning center Steven Stamkos celebrates with teammate Zenon Konopka after scoring the game-winning goal in Thursday's shootout.

ADVERTISEMENT

By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 12, 2009

Updated: 11/13/2009 12:57 am

Call it reverse karma. Call it injustice. Or even call it a case of highway robbery.

But however you refer to the Lightning's 4-3 shootout victory against Minnesota on Thursday, color Tampa Bay fortunate to put a notch in the W column.

Ryan Malone scored a power play goal with 14. 7 seconds left in regulation while Vinny Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos each converted their shootout attempts giving the Lightning their first shootout victory in five tries this season, snapping a string of 14 consecutive shootout misses by Tampa Bay's shooters this season.

Stamkos also scored his first career shorthanded goal in regulation and set up Malone's tying goal while Antero Niittymaki, making his fourth consecutive start, stopped 31 shots and both Wild shootout attempts to pick up his fifth victory of the season.

The victory improves Tampa Bay to 5-0-3 at home this season and leaves the Lightning as the only Eastern Conference team not to lose in regulation on home ice.

"You take this one and run," said Lightning coach Rick Tocchet, who's team is 3-0-1 in the past four games.

After two periods, it looked like Tampa Bay was going to be run out of the building after a listless and flat effort through 40 minutes. Minnesota held a 3-1 advantage on the scoreboard and were outshooting the Lightning 23-13. After Owen Nolan scored the Wild's third goal with a wicked wrist shot as he was falling to the ice at the 11:35 mark of the second period, answering Stamkos' shorthanded goal less than three minutes earlier, Minnesota looked to be in complete control of the game.

"We were not that good the first and second periods, and we realized that in the locker room, we talked about that," Niittymaki said. "We just wanted to make sure we came out and we were doing things the right way."

In the third, Tampa Bay turned it up just enough to stay in the game. Steve Downie cut the deficit to one at 9:17 off a rebound during a 3-on-1 rush up the ice. In the final minute, after Marek Zidlicky was called for hooking with 1:18 left, Stamkos found a puck in the corner and fed an open Malone in front, who then pulled the puck to his backhand and lifted the puck over Nicklas Backstrom to send the game into overtime.

After having a pair of games earlier this season in which Tampa Bay gave up a tying goal in the final minute - Oct. 8 vs. New Jersey and Oct. 24 vs. Buffalo - only to lose the game in overtime, Thursday felt like a bit of a role reversal.

"I was thinking that right when we scored (at the end of the third period) when I looked up at the scoreboard," Stamkos said. "It's about time we got one of those good bounces at home, so maybe a little bit of karma there."

Another aspect that was reversed was the shootout order. While the home team has the option to shoot first or second, statistics suggest the team that goes first often comes out on top, something Tampa Bay has done throughout the season.

But with the team's misfortunes in shootouts, Tocchet went against the grain and the tactic that snapped the shootout slump.

"The percentage of teams that go first (is high), so whatever that (percentage) was, I was going the opposite," he said. "It's just bucking any trend that was possible."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT