Flurry of scoring by Predators dooms Bolts, 7-4

On a night when Coach Rick Tocchet wanted to send a message by scratching top-line forwards Alex Tanguay and Jeff Halpern, the Tampa Bay Lightning delivered another message - they can lose just as well without them.

Tampa Bay led by a goal after the first period but allowed five goals to Nashville in the second, and the Predators rolled to a 7-4 blowout victory Tuesday night.

The Lightning have only one win in their past 10 games. They are 0-2-1 halfway through a season-long, six-game road trip.

"I think it was worse after the last two games than tonight, a little more positive. But those 50/50 battles we have to win more," Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier said. "You have to play smart hockey for 60 minutes or you get what happened tonight."

After allowing the first goal at 6:35 of the first, the Lightning rallied with a strong finish to the period. They got goals from Steven Stamkos, his first in nine games, and Lecavalier, who scored his first power-play goal of the season.

At the end of the opening 20 minutes, Tampa Bay led 2-1 and was outshooting the Predators 13-6.

Everything imploded on Tampa Bay in the second period, and it started early as the Predators scored twice in the opening three minutes. David Legwand and Ryan Jones scored 1:42 apart, both on rebounds between the hashmarks.

Patric Hornqvist then chased Lightning goalie Antero Niittymaki at the 12:22 mark when he found a loose puck inside the right circle and put it inside the far post. Niittymaki allowed four goals on 14 shots.

"We can talk about some of those goals all night, but I have to be better somehow," Niittymaki said. "There were a couple, not terrible goals, but in the situation we are going through right now you have to bring your 'A' game every night and tonight I didn't have my 'A' game."

Mike Smith didn't fare any better, adding another hole to the Lightning's sinking ship, as Hornqvist stole a puck from James Wright on the next shift and fired a puck that J. P. Dumont got a piece of to score 32 seconds after Hornqvist.

Dan Hamhuis then fired a wrist shot from the left point that Smith didn't appear to see with 3:51 left in the second, capping a five-goal outburst in the period. Smith faced only two shots in the period, with both getting past him.

Tampa Bay tried to fire things up to start the third period, with Kurtis Foster scoring Tampa Bay's second power-play goal 1:52 into the period and Lecavalier scoring his second of the game on a breakaway at 12:20.

But Martin Erat scored the game's final goal as the Predators set a season high in goals while the Lightning tied a season high in goals allowed.

"The effort, I don't think was bad. I actually really enjoyed watching the effort," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said. "And I'm sure there are one or two Nitty and Smitty would like to have back, but there were two or three individual situations and we have to keep hammering away at them, we have to do a better job of sealing off in front."