• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Ranger, Lightning hold off Blues' rally

Feb 6, 2008 - 6:19 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Defenseman Paul Ranger scored twice and All-Star Martin St. Louis had a goal and two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning used a three-goal third period to post 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

Jason Ward and Nick Tarnasky also scored, Vincent Lecavalier added two assists and Johan Holmqvist stopped 21 shots as Tampa Bay recorded its fifth straight road win.

"We just kept working and found a way to win, and that's the main goal right now," Ward said. "It's huge. We have a good thing going on the road right now. We just have to keep going. Now we have to find a way to win at home."

Brad Boyes scored his team-leading 30th goal and Andy McDonald and defenseman Eric Brewer each had a pair of assists for St. Louis, which scored twice in a span of 4:33 late in the third but fell short.

"I needed to score a couple more to help out," Boyes said. "We have to start playing better and start getting points, especially in home games like this."

Despite the win, coach John Tortorella was not pleased with his team's effort down the stretch.

"It's just no pride in the details of the game," Tortorella said. "No pride in goals allowed. You can't even enjoy a win. It's just awful."

The game was tied at 2-2 enter the final period, but Ward and Ranger scored less than three minutes apart to provide the Lightning with a 4-2 lead with 12:47 remaining in the third.

"It's just one of those things were it took a bounce to the middle of the rink and I just jumped on it," Ward said of his goal at 4:25. "I got it off as quick as I could, and it went in. It wasn't anything special. It was just one of those things, putting the puck on the net."

Tarnasky then one-timed a pass from Lecavalier past All-Star goaltender Manny Legace with 5:05 remaining to make it 5-2. As it turned out, that goal proved crucial.

Just nine seconds later, Jamal Mayers sliced the deficit to 5-3 with a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle.

After the Blues pulled Legace, rookie David Perron made it a one-goal game as he scored from the slot off a feed from Paul Kariya with 23 seconds remaining.

"It got a little bit too close at the end there, but we grinded it out," Holmqvist said. "It was a huge win for us. We're up, 5-2, and suddenly it's a game again. The important thing is that we won today, and that's the only thing that matters."

Holmqvist received help from his teammates in the final seconds as Craig MacDonald and defenseman Dan Boyle blocked shots to preserve the win.

"It was kind of desperate," MacDonald said of blocking Brewer's slap shot. "I knew I had to get in front of it. We're just trying to hang on. Who knows what happens if it gets to the net?"

"We've just got to bear down defensively," Boyle said. "If you have a three-goal lead, you can't let up. There's no reason to give up those two goals."

Legace stopped 19 shots for St. Louis, which has lost nine of 11.

"The puck was just finding a way in," Legace said. "I thought we outplayed them, but they got the breaks, and that's the difference in the game."