Reserve goaltender offsets Tampa Bay's power

CANUCKS 5, LIGHTNING 3: Peter Skudra makes 32 saves to deny the Lightning, which scores twice on power plays.

[Times photo: Dan McDuffie] Lightning wing Fredrik Modin, left, falls after crashing into Canucks' Peter Skudra.

By BRUCE LOWITT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published November 30, 2002

TAMPA -- The problem for the Lightning wasn't a lack of power-play goals, which would have been understandable. The problem was Peter Skudra.

He started in the Vancouver goal Friday night in place of Dan Cloutier, who was a big reason the Canucks took an eight-game winning streak into the St. Pete Times Forum.

Skudra, in just his fourth game of the season and second start, played magnificently in the third period when Tampa Bay threw everything it had at him.

And when the Lightning finally tied it at 2 on Martin St. Louis' second goal of the game, Skudra, who had 32 saves, held Tampa Bay some more.

Daniel Sedin broke the tie with a power-play goal that helped stretch Vancouver's winning streak with a 5-3 win before an announced 16,875.

"I played with Skudra in Boston," Lightning forward Dave Andreychuk said. "He's a good goalie. He was in position for everything. He covers a lot of the net. I've seen him play like that before."

Lightning center Brad Richards, whose goal was the first of two on the power play in the first period, called the outcome "disappointing, with the chances we had. Skudra made some great saves. Some of them I don't know how he made them.

"They got their chance in the third period on a power play and we needed a big kill and we didn't get it. ... We were 2-for-2 in the first period on power plays and we got robbed all game on five-on-five."

St. Louis tied it with a shot from the left circle after Dan Boyle passed the puck to him between his legs. The goal, 11:46 into the third period, came less than a minute before Tim Taylor went off for obstruction-hooking.

And at 13:49, Sedin put the Canucks up 4-3 with a shot between Nikolai Khabibulin and the right goal post.

"I'd like to have that one back," Khabibulin said. "When a guy has the puck that close to the net you're not surprised. He's got to shoot. I think he just had too much time.

"I thought he was going to pass across. I was waiting for him to do that and he just shot it. I wasn't cheating (leaning away from the post). But there was a little hole there."

Trevor Linden scored an empty-net goal in the final minute. Coming in, Vancouver was first in the league in penalty killing and Tampa Bay was 23rd in power-play goals and scoreless in its previous seven chances.

"Skudra definitely won the game for them," St. Louis said. "We could have had nine or 10 goals tonight. We can't be too upset, the way we played offensively."

Canucks defenseman Murray Baron was sent off for holding 6:26 into the first period. It took Tampa Bay 39 seconds to respond. Richards fired from the left point. It appeared to deflect off a Vancouver player and skittered across the line.

The Canucks tied it, also on a power play, when Markus Naslund scored on a wraparound.

Center Brendan Morrison took a shot from the blue line and Khabibulin made the save, but the puck ricocheted to the left of the goal. Naslund picked it up, swept behind the net and stuffed it in before Khabibulin could slide to his left and seal off the post.

Tampa Bay went on the power play again when Matt Cooke was sent off for obstruction-hooking. This time it took 14 seconds for the Lightning to capitalize.

Richards picked up a Boyle pass, skated in on Skudra and tried to snap a pass to St. Louis. He didn't get all of it but got enough for the puck to glide to St. Louis, unguarded in the left circle. He ripped a shot over Skudra's right arm with 3:41 remaining in the first period. The assist was the 100th of Richards' career.

Just 1:03 into the second, Baron tied it with a one-timer from the top of the left circle that cleanly beat Khabibulin to the left side for his first goal of the season.

Defenseman Marek Malik gave the Canucks their first lead midway in the second period. Ed Jovanoski slid the puck to him in the right circle and with a teammate and two Lightning players in front of Khabibulin, Malik scored his first goal on a wrist shot.

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