Hurricanes 3 - 4 Lightning
Final - OT
  for this game

Lightning lose late lead, but beat 'Canes in OT

Feb 13, 2011 - 6:36 AM Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Marc-Andre Bergeron scored 1:32 into overtime to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at St. Pete Times Forum.

The Lightning held a 3-1 lead late in regulation before Carolina scored twice in a 19-second span with goaltender Cam Ward on the bench for an extra skater.

Sean Bergenheim, who gave Tampa Bay a two-goal cushion in the third period, dished to Bergeron and he let go a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that beat a screened Ward.

"I found a way to sneak one in," Bergeron said of his game-winner.

Steve Downie and Vincent Lecavalier both tallied in the second period for Southeast Division-leading Tampa Bay, which improved to 5-2-0 on its NHL record-tying 12-game homestand.

Dwayne Roloson made 31 saves in the win.

Rookie Jeff Skinner and Erik Cole lit the lamp inside the final minute to force overtime for the Hurricanes, who have dropped three straight and five of six overall.

Ward allowed four goals on 41 shots to take the loss.

Bergenheim, playing in his 300th NHL game, put home a wrist shot at the 12:48 mark of the third, but Carolina mounted a late rally. Skinner's goal came with 52 seconds remaining, then Joni Pitkanen fired a shot from the point that deflected off Cole in the slot and past Roloson.

"We went to the well a little bit to the bench and they played as hard as they could," said Carolina head coach Paul Maurice. "I'm glad we got a good result out the third period, anyway."

Tampa Bay outshot Carolina 15-12 in a scoreless opening 20 minutes.

Downie whipped a backhander behind Ward to put Tampa Bay on the board at 4:26 of the second period before the team captains traded power-play goals later in the frame.

Lecavalier scored on a tip-in at the far side of the net to make it 2-0 at 7:41, but Eric Staal countered at 9:08 when he fired a shot through a maze of skates and between Roloson's pads.

Game Notes

Tampa Bay improved to 11-5-1 against Southeast Division foes this season...The Lightning are 13-4-0 in their last 17 home games...Pitkanen had two assists after missing Thursday's loss in Philadelphia with a lower-body injury...Carolina finished 1-for-8 on the power play, while Tampa Bay was 1- for-5.






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