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Lecavalier leads Lightning over Islanders

Oct 21, 2011 - 4:35 AM Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Vincent Lecavalier had a goal and an assist to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-1 decision over the New York Islanders.

Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos and Brett Clark added goals for the Lightning, while Teddy Purcell had two assists as Tampa Bay snapped its five-game losing streak.

Mathieu Garon made 16 saves for the win, the Lightning's first victory since their season opener.

"It was a complete game," said Stamkos. "Matty played great in net, we stayed disciplined, we stayed out of the box and we got one on the power play. If you could have drawn it up on the board, that's the way we wanted to play and we did. And we saw the positive result."

Michael Grabner had the goal for New York and Al Montoya stopped 26-of-30 shots as the Islanders had a three-game winning streak stopped.

Tampa Bay took advantage of a hooking penalty by Steve Staios to take the lead late in the first period. Lecavalier's slap shot from the right point went through traffic and to the net, but Montoya got a pad on it. However, the rebound bounced right to Malone in the slot and he wristed a shot into the upper-left corner of the net. It was just the second power-play goal the Islanders had allowed this season in 21 opportunities.

Lecavalier took the puck at the right half boards after a Matt Martin turnover inside the Islanders' zone, skated into the slot and sent a high shot past Montoya's glove for a 2-0 lead with 4:46 left in the second.

"They got break outs all night," said Grabner, "and we didn't have any pressure in their zone."

Mark Eaton attempted to clear the puck out of the Islanders' zone early in the third, but Mark Streit stopped the puck at the blue line and streaked down the right side of the ice. Streit circled towards the back of the net and then sent a pass to Stamkos right in front of the net, who flicked the puck into the twine for a three-goal lead with 14 1/2 minutes left in regulation.

New York answered 2 1/2 minutes later to make it a two-goal game when Grabner took a long pass from Streit at the red line and raced down the left side of the ice. He cruised towards the net and lifted a shot over the right shoulder of Garon and under the crossbar on the short side to get the Islanders on the board.

But Clark's one-timer from the left point skipped past Montoya and deflected into the net off the right post with 3:01 left in regulation to seal the win for Tampa Bay.

Game Notes

With his two points, Lecavalier now has 798 for his career...Tampa Bay leads the all-time series 38-31-3-5...New York went 0-for-2 on the power play, while Tampa Bay had one goal in three tries on the man advantage.