Slumping stars contribute in Bolts' win

GLENDALE, Ariz. Tampa Bay's venture through the desert Monday turned into a night of vindication for some of the Lightning's key components in a 4-1 victory against Phoenix.

On the offensive side of the ledger, the Lightning got two goals and an assist from captain Vinny Lecavalier while Alex Tanguay contributed a goal and two assists, as both registered season-highs with three points. Marty St. Louis, meanwhile, ended a lengthy drought with his first goal in over a month to help lead the offense.

At the other end of the ice, goaltender Mike Smith stood tall Monday in his first start since Nov. 2, when he was pulled after allowing five goals on 18 shots in a loss at Philadelphia. Smith finished the game with 30 saves to pick up his first road victory of the season and went a long way to help rebuild some of his confidence and the team's confidence in him.

Tampa Bay improved to 3-0-1 in its past four road games, and now has points in six consecutive games (4-0-2) and 10 of its past 11.

"It's more important for the team, but obviously to get the guys' confidence in me and play well in front of them, which on the road it obviously hasn't been there," said Smith, who was 0-3-1 on the road this season, having allowed five or more goals in three of his four starts away from home. "If you don't win on the road, you are not going to make the playoffs so it's an important piece of the puzzle that you have to keep doing."

While the Lightning were outshot 31-19 in the game, Smith kept the Coyotes at bay, twice stopping Scottie Upshall on a 2-on-1 play at the 12:20 mark of the first period and robbing Petr Prucha with a glove save after a nifty play to set up a redirect by former Lightning forward Radim Vrbata at the 13:04 mark of the second period. In the second period alone, Smith was able to stop all 13 shots he faced, keeping Tampa Bay in front despite the offense putting up just three shots on goal in the second.

"Smitty played really well for us tonight, it was really nice to get," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said. "It was just really a nice effort from everybody."

Especially on offense, where coming into the game the duo of Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone had combined to account for 25 of the team's 43 goals, or an astounding 58.1 percent of the offense. And on a rare night in which neither found the back of the net, the Lightning received needed offensive output from other key components.

Monday not only marked the first time since opening night that neither Malone nor Stamkos scored a goal - a stretch of 16 consecutive games - it was also the first time that the any combination of the trio of Lecavalier, St. Louis or Tanguay scored a goal in the same game this season.

"It's great, it feels good and hopefully it's going to carry on," Lecavalier said of getting scoring from Tampa Bay's other three main offensive threats. "Hopefully this is going to help everybody. I know Marty was relieved after his goal. So, hopefully it just carries over to the next game and keeps rolling."

Lecavalier's first of the night got Tampa Bay on the board with the Lightning's first shot of the game, a backhander from the bottom of the right circle that slipped through the legs of Jason LaBarbera at 5:59.

Then with Tampa Bay on a two-man advantage after Jim Vandermeer took a delay of game penalty with Paul Bissonette already in the penalty box, Stamkos fed Malone in the slot, who then found an open Tanguay at the right post for an open net and a 2-0 led at 14:44 of the first.

Former Lightning defenseman Adrian Aucoin cut the lead in half with a one-timer from the top of the center slot with 39.5 seconds left while the team's played 4-on-4 after Malone took an interference call in the middle of a five-minute power play for the Lightning, which resulted from a Jim Vandermeer boarding call on Kurtis Foster.

Tampa Bay scored the only goal of the second period despite being outshot 13-3 after Tanguay slid a cross-ice pass to Lecavalier for a quick shot on goal, with the rebound coming to St. Louis who was sliding on his back as he tapped the puck into the net at 4:30. The goal snapped a 12-game scoring drought for St. Louis, whose last goal came on Oct. 12 against Florida.

In the third, Lecavalier iced the game when, minutes after having a nice redirect from a James Wright pass hit the crossbar, he threw a cross-ice pass aimed from St. Louis at the right post that directed into the net of the skate of a Coyotes' defenseman for his second of the night and fourth of the season.

"Those guys are our leaders, they are the backbone of this team," Smith said of getting goals from Lecavalier, St. Louis and Tanguay. "When they are scoring, it takes pressure off guys like Stammer and Bugsy (Malone) and guys like that. And when you can get scoring throughout your whole lineup, especially your leaders, you are going to give your team a chance to win every night and it's nice to see."