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Brind'Amour lifts Hurricanes past Lightning

Nov 16, 2008 - 11:51 PM RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- There was a new coach behind the bench for the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, but the on-ice product was more of the same.

Captain Rod Brind'Amour scored in regulation and was successful in the second round of the shootout as the Carolina Hurricanes ruined the coaching debut of Rick Tocchet with a 3-2 triumph over the Lightning on Sunday.

Wade Brookbank had his first goal of the season for Carolina, which rallied from a two-goal deficit to snap a three-game losing streak.

"I hope this (win) puts us in the right direction," Brind'Amour said. "Our game is not where you want it to be. I didn't like our third period at all. But a win is a win and we'll take it anyway we can get it. We were more desperate than any team out there. Hopefully we can use that to feel good about ourselves coming into the next one."

Goaltender Cam Ward made 26 saves in regulation and denied Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier before Jussi Jokinen missed his attempt in the bonus format to clinch the win.

"We played with a lot of emotion tonight and that's something we desperately needed," Ward said. "To be able to come back after being in a hole 2-0 is huge for us and hopefully we can build off tonight. We showed a lot of positives and hopefully we can continue."

Tuomo Ruutu scored in the first round of the shootout and Brind'Amour followed Lecavalier's miss by beating Mike Smith. Jokinen's shot hit off the post to seal Tampa Bay's fourth straight loss.

It was the first game at the helm for Tocchet, who took over for Barry Melrose after he was fired just 16 games into his first season with Tampa Bay.

The Lightning posted a 5-7-4 mark under Melrose, ranking last in the NHL with 33 goals scored entering Sunday's contest.

Tampa Bay had a number of chances in the third period and limited the Hurricanes to just one shot, but Ward was up to the task each time, turning aside eight shots.

"Listen, it's baby steps. We're still trying to figure out short shifts, which they did better than I've seen a lot of times," Tocchet said. "It's a step in the right direction, that third period. We had five chances and they didn't have any. That's what we try to preach here, going into the third period and guys having their legs. I mean, five-nothing, you'll take that every day of the week."

Tocchet has been in the NHL for 25 years as a player and coach. He played 18 seasons, most notably with the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins, and was an assistant with three clubs before taking the job with Tampa Bay.

The offensive struggles continued for the Lightning despite a tally from Lecavalier, who scored for the first time six games.

Martin St. Louis also scored for Tampa Bay, but Brookbank and Brind'Amour scored 78 seconds apart late in the second period to knot the game, 2-2.

"This is our first crack at it. I thought he (Tocchet) did a good job," St. Louis said. "I wish we had a better outcome, but I thought we stuck together. We battled hard. I wish our power play would get us over the hump here and win us the game."

Smith made 28 saves in net for Tampa Bay, which also lost in overtime to Carolina on October 11.