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Gagne's first goal with Tampa caps OT rally

Dec 1, 2010 - 7:09 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Simon Gagne's goal at the 1:15 mark of overtime lifted Tampa Bay over Toronto, 4-3, at Air Canada Centre.

Just over a minute into the extra session, Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn tried to leave a drop pass for forward Phil Kessel deep in the Tampa zone, but it was picked off by Lightning defenseman Brett Clark, who fed ahead. Gagne carried down the right wing on a 2-on-1 rush, and cranked home the game-winner from the right circle.

Gagne, who spent the first 11 years of his career with Philadelphia, picked up his first goal with Tampa Bay on the shot.

"I was nervous. I didn't sleep a lot last night - even this afternoon I was looking for at least a good two hours for a nap, but I could not sleep," Gagne said. "It's hard when you don't play for a month and you're coming back in Toronto. You know it's going to be a tough game. I'm glad this one's over and I'm glad we won the game."

Martin St. Louis notched a pair of goals, including the tying score with nine seconds left in regulation, for the Lightning, who snapped a two-game slide.

Ryan Malone also lit the lamp to back 22 saves from Dan Ellis.

Nikolai Kulemin tallied twice and Kris Versteeg once for the Maple Leafs, who blew a two-goal, third-period lead and lost their fourth game in five.

Jonas Gustavsson was tagged in the loss for four goals on 39 shots.

Ellis was pulled for an extra attacker with 1:04 to play, and the Bolts spent most of that time in the Leafs' zone. After Tampa won a left-circle draw with just over 10 seconds remaining, St. Louis blasted a shot through a Gagne screen to send the game beyond regulation.

"Icing the puck in an empty-net situation even though we call a time out to give everybody a rest and then we got wandering around," Leafs head coach Ron Wilson said. "We lost the faceoff and they made a good play but we didn't have two defensemen near the front of the net to block the shot and it ends up in."

Toronto jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 1:25 into the game as Versteeg's wraparound from behind the goal line deflected off a body and snaked its way home.

The Leafs had a goal in the final 30 seconds of the first period nullified when Toronto forward Clarke MacArthur was ruled to have interfered with Ellis.

Tampa Bay finally solved Gustavsson on the power play, as Gagne fed Malone behind the net and the latter stuffed the puck in at 5:18 of the second period.

Kulemin put the Leafs back on top with a power-play tally at 11:51, when he tipped in a blast from Tomas Kaberle.

The Maple Leafs took a 3-1 lead at the 7:23 mark of the third period, when a hard dump-in from Joey Crabb took a strange bounce off the boards and fooled Ellis. Kulemin was in the right place in the low slot to chip the puck over the diving Bolts goaler.

Only 62 seconds later, a failed Toronto clear resulted in Steve Downie's pass to St. Louis, who was all alone to shove a shot past Gustavsson.

Game Notes

The Lightning have won both meetings with the Maple Leafs this season and three of the last four...Toronto forward Mike Brown left the game late in the third after taking a shot off his right hand...Tampa Bay improved to 4-0-1 in its last five games in Toronto...St. Louis notched his second multi-goal effort of the season...The Maple Leafs completed November with a 3-7-3 record.