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Tarnasky's two goals help Lightning top Panthers

Jan 13, 2008 - 5:01 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- Nick Tarnasky gave the Tampa Bay Lightning some unexpected offense.

Tarnasky scored twice as the Lightning posted a 5-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Brad Richards also netted a pair of goals and Jan Hlavac scored a goal for Tampa Bay, which had lost eight of its previous nine games.

The victory also gave the Lightning just their third win in 14 contests here.

The game did not start well for Tampa Bay as Florida captain Olli Jokinen scored 38 seconds into the first period. After the puck hit the skate of teammate Richard Zednik in front of the net, Jokinen banged a shot past goaltender Johan Holmqvist.

"It was a tough start, but you just have to regroup and stay focused," Holmqvist said. The Lightning did just that, tying the game 10 minutes later.

From behind the net, Craig MacDonald found Tarnasky on the doorstep for a wrist shot that beat All-Star goaltender Tomas Vokoun to the short side with 9:21 left in the session, knotting the game at 1-1.

"It's just exciting to be a part of a win," Tarnasky said. "I haven't had a night like this since my second year in the American (Hockey) League."

Hlavac put the Lightning ahead when he poked the puck past a horizontal Vokoun and into the left corner of the net two minutes into the second period. It was his seventh goal of the season, three of which have come against the Panthers.

Just 66 seconds later, Tampa Bay doubled the advantage when Tarnasky gathered the puck in the slot, spun to his right and blistered a shot past Vokoun. It was Tarnasky's third tally of the season and capped the first multi-goal game of his three-year career.

"I've been working hard on going to the net and getting opportunities," Tarnasky said. "The coaches have been helping me change my approach in the offensive zone, and it seems to be helping. Tonight, the puck found my stick at the right time, and I was fortunate to get off good shots."

After Richards scored a power-play goal just over nine minutes into the final session to end a 12-game drought, the Panthers tallied twice in a span of less than four minutes.

"It was pretty wild there at the end, but you have to stay calm and hope guys can come up with the big plays," Holmqvist said.

However, Richards added an empty-netter with 16 seconds remaining to seal the win.

"You hope (these goals) jump-starts him," Lightning coach John Tortorella said of Richards, who had scored just five times in his previous 31 games. "He made a good defensive play at the end, and obviously, the power-play goal earlier was a big one for us."

With the two tallies, Richards - who is the Lightning's highest-paid player - tied Fredrik Modin for third place on the franchise list with 145.

"I wasn't trying to score at all," Richards said of his first goal. "I was just trying to clear the zone. For it to go in was a bonus. We intercepted a lot of pucks in the middle of the ice and managed to get huge goals off turnovers."

Holmqvist stopped 27 shots for Tampa Bay, which improved to 3-2-0 against Florida this season.

David Booth and Brett McLean scored third-period goals and Vokoun made 21 saves for the Panthers, who have lost five straight at home.

"This is a tough loss," Vokoun said of losing to the team occupying the basement in the Eastern Conference. "It was a big game, but sometimes the less time you have to think about stuff like that, the better."

Florida's Radek Dvorak believed a couple of lapses cost the Panthers the game.

"The first three minutes in the second period hurt us," Dvorak said. "The same thing happened a few games ago against (Pittsburgh), the same thing. A three-minute lapse and we lose the game. We still had nearly 40 minutes left, but we didn't work hard for 60."