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Lecavalier, Lightning top Canadiens for third straight win

Jan 28, 2009 - 5:55 AM TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Unfortunately for the Montreal Canadiens, Vincent Lecavalier still is a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Lecavalier and fellow All-Star Martin St. Louis each recorded a goal and an assist as the Lightning scored three times in the second period Tuesday en route to a 5-3 victory over the Canadiens.

Ryan Malone, Vaclav Prospal and Steve Downie also tallied for Tampa Bay, which has won three straight games and slowly is climbing the Eastern Conference standings.

Mike Smith made 31 saves for the Lightning, who went 4-1-0 over their five-game homestand.

"When those guys (Lecavalier and St. Louis) score, we're going to be in a lot of games," Smith said. "Those were big goals from both of them tonight."

Maxim Lapierre, All-Star Game MVP Alexei Kovalev and Guillaume Latendresse scored for the Canadiens, who have been rumored to be interested in acquiring Lecavalier for months.

"To end up scoring five goals against a pretty good team makes it a lot more special," Prospal said. "There were a lot of games at the beginning of the season where we had chances and couldn't score, and right now, we seem to capitalize on the chances, and that makes a difference on whether you win or lose."

The Lightning have insisted they will not trade their captain, and Lecavalier continues to say he is happy in Tampa Bay. The 28-year-old, whose 11-year, $85-million contract extension goes into effect next season, proved his worth in this one.

A native of Ile Bizard, Quebec, Lecavalier tied the contest at 2-2 at 2:49 of the middle session. After taking a pass from St. Louis, Lecavalier appeared to be heading behind the net but instead unleashed a quick wrist shot over All-Star goaltender Carey Price for a power-play goal.

The Lightning took the lead on Prospal's 12th of the season with 5:03 left in the second, and Downie banked in a shot off Canadiens defenseman Roman Hamrlik's skate from behind the net to make it 4-2.

"We didn't have a good first period, but the good thing about it is, they responded in the second period," Tampa Bay interim coach Rick Tocchet said. "To me, that's a sign of a team that's coming together, and I'm proud of the guys.

"We can't afford any more losses. We're a long way away from where we want to be, but there's some light at the end of the tunnel."

St. Louis converted a give-and-go with Lecavalier midway through the third period, firing a wrist shot past Price with 8:56 to go to extend Tampa Bay's advantage.

Lapierre netted his second goal of the night just 22 seconds later, but Montreal did not mount a serious scoring threat for the rest of the contest.

"We haven't played well," Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau said. "We started the game on a right note. We had really good chances to bury them early, but we let them come back.

"Our goalies are going to have to be stronger. We can't win games giving up four or five goals every game, and that's the way it's been over the last two or three weeks."

Price stopped 19 shots for the Canadiens, who outshot the Lightning by a 20-7 margin in the first period.

"We couldn't get a bounce," Price said. "They brought it. They played a pretty solid game. They played physical and got a few bounces."