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Plekanec lifts Canadiens past Lightning

Jan 3, 2007 - 7:11 AM MONTREAL (Ticker) -- A pair of goals from an unlikely source got the Montreal Canadiens back on track.

Tomas Plekanec scored two goals as the Canadiens defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2, to snap a two-game losing streak.

Montreal scored three times in the third period to snap a 2-2 tie and avenge a 3-1 loss to the Lightning on Saturday.

Plekanec, who entered with three goals on the season, scored his second of the game at 6:01 of the third period to put the Canadiens ahead to stay, 3-2. He broke a 14-game goal-scoring slump, having scored his last goal on November 30 in a loss at Carolina.

"I don't think he should worry about it too much (his scoring drought). I'm not, it should be the same thing for him," teammate Alexei Kovalev said. "He knows how good he is, how he can elevate his game a bit higher.

"Hopefully after tonight's game it will build his confidence and he'll score a lot more goals."

Kovalev added a goal and two assists and Cristobal Huet made 21 saves for Montreal, which also received third-period tallies from Michael Ryder and Christopher Higgins, who had an empty netter.

"The defense and the way the team is playing now, you can rely on your team to help you and you help them," Huet said.

Doug Janik collected his first career goal to open the scoring for the Lightning, snapping a shot from the blue line between the pads of Huet at 9:18 of the first period.

Plekanec tied it at 17:53 of the opening session, taking a centering pass from Kovalev behind the net and slapping a shot past Johan Holmqvist.

Kovalev put Montreal ahead, 2-1, in the second period with a power-play tally at 15:44, but Tampa Bay tied it 31 seconds later when Filip Kuba, standing alone in front, drilled a perfect feed from Martin St. Louis past Huet.

"We were in a good spot, 2-2 going into the third period," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "We have a chance to score, we don't get the lead, it's very important to score on a breakaway and we get beat out of the corner and they (Montreal) score their third goal."

Plekanec did the honors on the go-ahead tally, with linemates Kovalev and Sergei Samsonov assisting.

"The difference was we kept it simple," Plekanec said. "That was the word between me, Kovalev and Samsonov - simple."