Lightning rookie and overall No. 1 draft pick Steven Stamkos recorded a natural hat trick in Tuesday's game against Chicago, scoring three consecutive goals. Stamkos, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Feb. 12, scored his first goal of the game at 12:58 of the first period when he jumped on puck that caromed off the end boards to the side of the net that he put past Cristobal Huet that tied the game 1-1. Then Stamkos went to work on the power play in the second period. With Craig Adams in the penalty box for a high sticking double-minor at 9:45, Stamkos gave Tampa Bay the lead at 10:28 when he took a down-low, cross-ice feed at the left point from Vinny Prospal and fired a wrist shot to the top of the neat post and over the right shoulder of Huet. Seventy seconds later, with Stamkos back on the left point on the second half of the power play, Stamkos one-timed a Steve Eminger feed past Huet that gave the Lightning a 3-1 lead 11:38 into the second period. Stamkos took to one knee and gave a Tiger Woods-esque fist pump as hats began to rain down from the stands in celebration of the rookie's first career hat trick performance, the first rookie hat trick in franchise history. It is Stamkos' second multi-goal game of the season. The overall No. 1 pick failed early on to live up to the lofty expectations placed on him when Tampa Bay selected him first at the draft in Ottawa back in June. He had four goals through the first 42 games of the season. But since the coaching staff put him onto a strength-training program, which saw him sit out three games as a healthy scratch, Stamkos has improved his play. In his past 13 games, including Tuesday, Stamkos has six goals and five assists. ...more

February 17, 2009

Two days after all 29 teams passed on LW Jussi Jokinen, the Lightning dealt the 25-year-old forward to Carolina on Saturday. ...more

February 8, 2009

A St. Petersburg Times photographer is suing R&B singers Chris Brown and Rihanna for $1 million, saying their bodyguards attacked him as he was taking pictures of the entertainers outside a club earlier this year. ...more

December 3, 2008

A St. Petersburg Times photographer is suing R&B singers Chris Brown and Rihanna for $1 million, saying their bodyguards attacked him as he was taking pictures of the entertainers outside a club earlier this year. ...more

December 2, 2008

Finally, an accelerating trend in health care insurance that's good news for many parents. ...more

June 22, 2008

On its official Web site, the Cleveland Clinic touts its reputation as one of the nation's top medical centers. ...more

January 31, 2008

Kevin Curtin says he didn't know the pretty classmate who showed up at his birthday party Aug. 30 with a can of Red Bull in her hand. The Florida Gulf Coast University student spoke out through his attorney Tuesday for the first time since his "open house party" charge became public, saying it's not his fault that Plant High School graduate Mary Grace Taaffe got drunk that night in his Estero apartment. ...more

October 3, 2007