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St. Louis helps Lightning continue dominance of Penguins

Jan 10, 2007 - 4:31 AM TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Martin St. Louis again did in the Pittsburgh Penguins.

St. Louis scored once and set up two other tallies as the Tampa Bay Lightning continued their dominance of the Penguins with a 3-2 victory.

It marked the Lightning's 11th straight win over the Penguins and second in three days. St. Louis scored the deciding goal in Sunday's 3-2 shootout triumph.

St. Louis snapped a 1-1 tie at 6:46 of the second period while the Lightning were on the power play. From along the right goal line, St. Louis put a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury for his 27th tally of the season.

Just 3:15 into the third period, St. Louis set up Andreas Karlsson's third goal of the season that extended the margin to 3-1.

"The third goal was an important one," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "We tried to get a two-goal lead and I guess the formula was to try to get everyone to contribute offensively and defensively, and I think that happened tonight."

St. Louis also had an assist on Vincent Lecavalier's 24th goal of the season in the first period for Tampa Bay (21-21-2), which has won three of its last four games to get back to the .500 mark.

"Right now, we are .500 and we could be a lot worse," St. Louis said. "We know we are capable of getting hot in the second half and that is our focus."

Johan Holmqvist stopped 16-of-17 shots in the third period and made 29 saves for the Lightning, who have not lost to the Penguins since January 17, 2003.

"Holmqvist was outstanding tonight," Tortorella said.

"We worked hard, but we aren't working hard enough to make that jump," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "We have come a long way, but we have to prove ourselves against teams like this."

Colby Armstrong scored off a deflection with 2:41 to bring the Penguins within 3-2.

Sidney Crosby, the top vote-getter for the All-Star Game later this month, tallied for the 21st time just 24 seconds into the contest for the Penguins, who have lost four straight road games.

"It's terrific to be so recognized," Crosby said. "It makes you feel proud."

Crosby also is concerned about his team's struggles away from home.

"We have to be able to turn the corner," Crosby said. "We seem to be making strides, but not enough to get over the hump, especially on the road."