Lightning/NHL

St. Louis' quick move a winner

By TOM JONES
Published April 16, 2006

TAMPA - This time, Marty St. Louis buried his chance.

On Friday, St. Louis could have extended a shootout, but watched in disgust as his shot beat goalie Martin Gerber, but hit the post and the Lightning lost. This time, he beat Gerber and the posts.

St. Louis' overtime goal with 10.7 seconds left gave the Lightning a 3-2 victory.

"You get on the ice in four on four and there's a lot of ice," St. Louis said. "You try to get behind people."

That was exactly what St. Louis did. He sneaked behind the Carolina defense and took a pass from defenseman Dan Boyle. He then gave a quick deke on Gerber and shoved the puck between Gerber's pads.

"I know Danny's game and I know when I'm on the ice, he looks for me to break," St. Louis said.

St. Louis, however, said he did not think about the move he made Friday.

"You don't have time to think on a breakaway because you're getting chased," St. Louis said. "On a (shootout) shot, it seems like you can explore all your options."

St. Louis said his options were limited because he was being slashed from behind by Carolina defenseman Frantisek Kaberle.

GOING FOR IT: Because the Lightning picked up a point by just getting to overtime, it knew it only had to win Tuesday against Washington to make the playoffs.

But with its destiny back in its hands, the Lightning decided to go all out for the win in overtime.

"You always think like that," St. Louis said. "We're an aggressive team in overtime, especially this time of the year."

PROSPAL HURT: Forward Vinny Prospal left in the third period with what is being called an upper-body injury. He will be re-evaluated today, but is considered day to day for now.

JOHNNY BE GOOD: Coach John Tortorella swears that starting John Grahame in goal had nothing to do with numbers. Coming in, Sean Burke was 0-1-1 with a 5.31 goals-against average and a .780 save percentage against Carolina. Grahame was 4-1 with a 2.15 GAA and a .926 save percentage.

Tortorella said he was concerned about playing the 39-year-old Burke, who played Friday in Carolina, on back-to-back nights.

"Johnny played well," Tortorella said. "We're going to need both goalies. If we're fortunate enough to get in (to the playoffs) we'll need both goalies."

SEVEN SPOT: Believe it or not, with a win Tuesday and a Montreal loss, the Lightning will pass the Canadiens for the seventh seed.

"I don't care," Tortorella said. "I don't care who we play. We just want to get in."

[Last modified April 16, 2006, 00:43:12]