Stamkos does it all in Lightning shootout win

With arms in the air, stick raised far above his head, Steven Stamkos bumped into glass along the near boards.

Within seconds he was surrounded by blue jerseys as teammates offered their congratulations moments after Stamkos, 20, became the third-youngest player in NHL history to record 50 goals in a season in Tampa Bay's 4-3 shootout victory over Florida in the Lightning's home finale.

With 25 goals in his past 32 games, the sophomore center who was the top pick in the 2008 draft streaked his way to a monumental milestone. He accomplished the feat with his father, Chris, sitting in the stands.

"My dad sent me a text a couple of weeks ago just to stay focused because I had a chance to do something special and a lot of people don't have the opportunity to do it," Stamkos said. "My emotions were running when it went in, with him in the stands, to be able to share that moment with my teammates and the coaching staff that have been there since Day 1. And with the fans there in the last home game of the year, it was pretty special."

With a first-period power-play goal already under his belt, Stamkos went to work in the second period with Tampa Bay again on the man advantage. While camped out at the right circle, on the opposite side of the ice he generally patrols, Stamkos took a pass from Andrej Meszaros at the left point and wristed the puck past goaltender Scott Clemmensen at the 5:28 mark.

"That was a special moment," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said. "It's a nice milestone for him. There are not too many of those guys. ... It's a special night for him."

Only Wayne Gretzky and Jimmy Carson were younger when they scored their 50th goals of the season. Gretzky did it with Edmonton in the 1979-80 season at the age of 19 years, two months; Carson scored his 50th with Los Angeles in 1987-88 at the age of 19 years, eight months. Stamkos is 20 years, two months old.

"We were talking about it on the bench. He's 20 years old and he's got 50 goals, where does he go from here?" Florida defenseman Bryan McCabe said. "Pretty sick stats. It's going to be interesting to see how much better he gets."

Stamkos will enter today's season finale in Sunrise for a rematch with the Panthers tied for the lead in the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy with Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who faces Boston at noon. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, who faces off against the New York Islanders, has 49 goals.

"Getting the 50, that is something special," Stamkos said. "Having the chance to get the Richard would just be the icing on the cake."

After the game, a trail of shaving cream led the way to Stamkos' locker stall as teammates garnered the newest member of the 50-goal club with a celebratory pie that left a wake in its path, as many a goaltender has experienced as a puck goes whizzing by after it comes off Stamkos' stick.

"His shot explodes off his stick," Clemmensen said. "He's the closest guy in the league to Ovechkin. He's the one guy in the league that I think has a comparable shot to Ovechkin's, to tell you the truth. It is deadly."

Stamkos is the second player in franchise history to scored 50 goals in a season, joining current Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier, who registered 52 goals during the 2006-07 season while winning the Richard Trophy. Lecavalier's 50th came in Carolina on a spinning backhander from the top of the left circle that eluded goaltender Cam Ward.