Lecavalier doesn't mind No. 50 being a little ugly

All things being equal, Vinny Lecavalier said he would rather have scored his 50th goal on a much prettier play.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published April 1, 2007

TAMPA - All things being equal, Vinny Lecavalier said he would rather have scored his 50th goal on a much prettier play.

But considering it took the Lightning center 26 shots, the long backhander Carolina's David Tanabe tipped between the legs of goaltender Cam Ward on Friday was just fine.

"Relief," Lecavalier said Saturday. "I guess I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to get it over with."

Lecavalier, the NHL's 87th 50-goal scorer, had not tallied in three games. When Ward robbed him in the game's first 30 seconds, Lecavalier said, "I was like, 'Am I not going to score for eight or nine games?' I knew I needed to score and help the team that way."

Vinny Prospal grabbed the puck out of the net for his teammate.

"It's a great honor," Lecavalier said. "I'm happy it happened, but it's over with now. Let's move on."

GOOD TO GO: Defenseman Paul Ranger, who missed eight games with a partially torn ligament in his left knee, reported no ill effects after playing 15:39 and assisting on Lecavalier's 50th.

FIGHT CLUB: Shane O'Brien has two instigator penalties this season. One more means an automatic two-game suspension. That is why the defenseman said he did not throw a punch at Tanabe until he agreed to fight.

"I dropped my gloves first," O'Brien said. "But I didn't do anything until he dropped his."

Tanabe in the first period chased Lecavalier, who had clobbered Frantisek Kaberle with a clean hit against the corner glass.

"I didn't know if Vinny saw him, but he was coming pretty quick," said O'Brien, who easily won the fight.

"I thought that was great," Lecavalier said "He's a great team guy. You never have enough guys like that."

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE: After winning 71 percent of faceoffs Tuesday against the Panthers, Tampa Bay won just 41 percent against the Hurricanes. Carolina entered Saturday fourth in the league with a 52.3 winning percentage. Tampa Bay was 20th at 48.9.

"You know certain teams with the personnel they have, they're going to win quite a few of them," coach John Tortorella said. "We'd like to become one of those teams. At times we are. At times we're not."

ODDS AND ENDS: Forwards Blair Jones and Karl Stewart, goalie Karri Ramo and defensemen Doug Janik and Matt Smaby were healthy scratches.

Damian Cristodero can be reached at cristodero@sptimes.com.

[Last modified April 1, 2007, 00:37:32]