Vinnys lead big recovery

Prospal and Lecavalier (twice) score one night after an ugly defeat.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published March 8, 2007

EDMONTON - Captain Tim Taylor said he was glad the Lightning was back in action the day after a brutal 5-1 loss to the Canucks.

It gave the players an opportunity to put the game behind them and a chance to gain a piece of the Southeast Division lead with the idle Thrashers.

Good plan and, after a rough start, decent execution as Tampa Bay earned a 3-1 victory Wednesday night at Rexall Place.

Tampa Bay (38-27-4) broke a two-game losing streak and with 80 points is tied with Atlanta in the division. Just as notable is the seven-point cushion over the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes, tied for the East's final playoff spot.

"I'm looking at Atlanta," said Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle, who played a game-high 31:32. "I'm not looking at not making the playoffs."

Vinny Prospal scored his third goal in his past four games and had an assist. Vinny Lecavalier scored his league-best 44th and 45th.

"Atlanta has picked up the pace, and we had to step up," Prospal said. "This was a big game for us statement-wise and confidence-wise."

Marc Denis made 29 saves. Ladislav Smid's severely screen shot from the blue line cut the deficit to one with 2:35 left.

Of concern, though, is the condition of defenseman Paul Ranger, who was helped off the ice 8:48 in with a left knee injury.

Ranger was next to the net when Denis made a sprawling glove save on Shawn Horcroff's backhander. Edmonton's Raffi Torres skated hard toward the net, tripped over Denis and fell into Ranger's knee.

Ranger skated off with help from trainer Tommy Mulligan and did not return. There were no other updates.

Though he has been up and down, losing Ranger, 22, one of the league's most gifted young blue-liners, would be significant. He is a good complement to the roaming Boyle, is a superb passer from the defensive zone and has four goals and 26 points and is plus-3.

It was a game Tampa Bay should have won.

The Oilers have lost five straight. Their injury-depleted lineup included six rookies, and its 12 forwards had 91 goals, only nine more entering Wednesday than Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis combined.

The Lightning, with 17 shots against Vancouver and outscored 11-3 in two previous games, wanted to shoot more. Coach John Tortorella made mishmash of his lines. Lecavalier, for example, centered Andre Roy and Ruslan Fedotenko.

Still, the Lightning did not get a shot until 7:19 in, on Taylor's wraparound. At one point, the team was outshot 6-1 and finished the period down 10-7.

Denis' save on Horcroff was the highlight as he stole what seemed a sure goal. Petr Sykora's scorcher hit a post with 7:01 remaining.

The Lightning scored twice in a second period in which Lecavalier was reunited with St. Louis and Prospal. Prospal's power-play goal with 9:11 remaining was his 12th and included Brad Richards' 300th career assist and an assist to Boyle for his career-best 54th point.

Lecavalier scored with 6:30 left on a snap shot past Jussi Markkanen off Prospal's pass.

"We're trying to use this road trip to get back to our identity on the ice and playing a more straight-ahead game," Tortorella said. "And other than the middle of the first period, I thought we did that."

First Period-None. Penalties-None.

Second Period-1, Tampa Bay, Prospal 12 (Richards, Boyle), 10:49 (pp). 2, Tampa Bay, Lecavalier 44 (Prospal, St. Louis), 13:30. Penalties-Greene, Edm (hooking), 3:27; Jacques, Edm (roughing), 9:10; Pratt, TB (tripping), 20:00.

Third Period-3, Edmonton, Smid 2 (Torres, Lupul), 17:25. 4, Tampa Bay, Lecavalier 45 (St. Louis, Janik), 19:21 (en). Penalties-Greene, Edm, major (fighting), 15:18; Tarnasky, TB, minor-major-misconduct (instigator, fighting), 15:18. Shots on Goal-Tampa Bay 7-13-5-25. Edmonton 10-9-11-30. Power-play opportunities-Tampa Bay 1 of 2; Edmonton 0 of 2. Goalies-Tampa Bay, Denis 15-14-2 (30 shots-29 saves). Edmonton, Markkanen 5-4-1 (24-22). A-16,839 (16,839).

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[Last modified March 8, 2007, 02:03:06]