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Flames-Lightning Preview

Feb 6, 2010 - 5:06 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Calgary (28-21-8) at Tampa Bay (24-21-11), 7:00 p.m. EDT

Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos are playing a key role in the Tampa Bay Lightning's surge. At least one man is buying into the team - literally.

With a deal in place to sell the team, St. Louis and Stamkos will try to help the Lightning to a sixth win in eight games Saturday night when they face the Calgary Flames for the only time this season.

The Lightning (24-21-11) have won five of seven (5-1-1), beating the Islanders 5-2 at home Thursday as Stamkos netted two goals and with one assist while St. Louis had one of each.

The duo is a big reason for Tampa Bay's recent surge, which has moved it into a tie with Philadelphia for the final two playoff positions in the Eastern Conference, one point behind sixth-place Montreal.

Stamkos has six goals and seven assists during a career high-tying eight-game point streak, while St. Louis has found the net in each of the last five games and six of seven, including three game-winners.

St. Louis has 18 goals and a team-leading 62 points - two more than Stamkos, who leads the Lightning with 31 goals after netting 23 as a rookie last season.

"I think as a team we've got our confidence to win games," Stamkos said. "It's all going in the right direction at the right time."

The Lightning, who have also won eight of 11 at home (8-1-2), announced Friday that Boston Red Sox minority owner Jeff Vinik has agreed to buy the team. The deal is contingent on approval from the league's Board of Governors, which is expected in three to four weeks.

Vinik, a financier, agreed to buy the team, the company that operates the St. Pete Times Forum, and 5.5 acres of land adjacent to the downtown arena. Financial terms were not disclosed.

He's getting a team that has failed to reach the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and is six years removed from winning its only Stanley Cup by beating Calgary (29-21-8).

The Lightning took the lone meeting last season, winning 8-6 at Calgary on March 1 behind five combined points from Stamkos and St. Louis. They've hosted the Flames only once since winning the 2004 Cup, falling 9-6 on Dec. 13, 2007.

A pair of new additions are trying to help Calgary to its first three-game winning streak since winning a season-high five in a row Dec. 28-Jan. 5. The Flames snapped out of a 2-9-3 stretch Wednesday by beating Carolina 4-1 at home. They followed that up with a 2-1 victory at Florida on Friday, as Ales Kotalik scored his first goal with the club on an assist by Niklas Hagman.

Kotalik and Hagman were acquired in separate deals earlier this week.

"With the new guys, it was an understanding of what they had to do and I thought they went out there and contributed. It was a solid team win," coach Brent Sutter said.

Kotalik is hoping his goal on a fortuitous bounce off a skate against the Panthers signifies a resurgence after he scored eight during a difficult 45-game stint with the New York Rangers, who dealt him to Florida in a four-player deal Tuesday.

"It doesn't matter (how it looks), it still counts when it goes in," Kotalik said.

Hagman failed to record a point in his first two games with the Flames after getting 20 goals and 13 assists with Toronto. A seven-player trade landed him in Calgary on Sunday.

Kotalik has one goal and one assist in nine games against Tampa Bay, while Hagman has three goals and four assists in five contests versus the Lightning.