Home streak rolls on

LIGHTNING 3, RANGERS 0: Nikolai Khabibulin makes 24 saves for his 29th career shutout.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 31, 2002

[Times photo: Dirk Shadd] Lightning players celebrate a third-period goal against Rangers goalie Mike Richter.

TAMPA -- He answered every question without raising his voice or touting his exploits, even though there were so many to tout.

It was just another day at the office for Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who shrugged when asked to explain his performance Wednesday night in a 3-0 victory over the Rangers in front of a boisterous announced crowd of 17,512 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"You just try to stop the shots that come at you," he said.

The shots came from everywhere, from every angle, especially in the first two periods in which New York outshot Tampa Bay 20-9 but trailed 1-0.

Khabibulin made 24 saves for his first shutout this season and 29th of his career. He improved to 7-0-2, tying Daren Puppa's team-record, nine-game unbeaten streak.

Tim Taylor got the winner 8:55 into the first period, Fredrik Modin scored with 4:34 left in the game and Vinny Lecavalier got an empty-netter.

Martin St. Louis had two assists and the Lightning, 4-0-0 at home and with a league-high 39 goals, improved to 16 points, tops in the Eastern Conference, four ahead of Carolina in the Southeast.

But the story was Khabibulin, who hadn't had a shutout since Jan. 28, a span of 34 games, when he beat the Rangers 1-0 at Madison Square Garden.

"This is one he stole," Taylor said. "He literally stole it from the other team."

He did it with his left arm, which stopped Rico Fata's shot from the slot with 40 seconds left in the first period.

He did it with his right foot, which stopped Petr Nedved's second-period screened shot from the faceoff circle to the goalie's left.

He did it with his glove, which nabbed Darius Kasparaitis' second-period blast after Jamie Lundmark hit the crossbar from the high slot.

And he did it with his body, which traveled post-to-post to stone Pavel Bure's second-period one-timer from in close.

"He made some key saves early," Nedved said. "But we have to find a way to score. We made him look good too."

"He's a heck of an athlete and a great competitor," coach John Tortorella said. "You have to have that in order to do what he does."

What he did was give the Lightning a chance to win, a chance it finally took advantage of in the third period when it outshot the Rangers 13-4.

Quite a difference from the game's first 8 minutes, 19 seconds, six of which Tampa Bay spent on the power play and in which it was outshot 5-1.

"God-awful," Tortorella said of the power play, which was 0-for-6 and has converted three of its past 32 chances.

Was the third-period revival a sign of maturity or has the team gained confidence playing with leads? Or is the conditioning work the players did in preseason helping them breathe easier?

Whatever, it was the second time in nine days the Lightning beat the Rangers by smothering them in the third period, and the boys from New York did not take it well.

Things got rough with 12 seconds left when a scrum turned into a fight between Tampa Bay's Cory Sarich and tough guy Krzysztof Oliwa. Tampa Bay's Sheldon Keefe was called for slashing, and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties were given to Kasparaitis and Tortorella, who yelled at the referees.

Cut to the serene scene at Khabibulin's locker.

The goalie has stopped 93 of 96 shots his past four outings (a .969 save percentage), beginning with the second period Oct. 23 against the Blue Jackets.

"I'm seeing the puck better," he said, "moving quicker, reading the plays better. It's a good deal, but you can't get too high right now. We still have 72 games to play. We haven't made the playoffs because we won seven games out of our first 10."

But it's at least worth a shrug.

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