Ahead 3-1 after two, Lightning blows it

Carolina scores three during the first 8:39 for its first win over Tampa Bay this season.

By EDUARDO A. ENCINA, Times Staff Writer
Published November 24, 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. - John Tortorella watched what he believed were the best two periods his team has played this season Friday.

But in the final period, against a team it owned in two previous meetings, the Lightning folded. Tampa Bay, dominating and dazzling, became dumbfounded.

"They were skating, and we were watching," forward Marty St. Louis said.

The Lightning blew a two-goal, third-period lead for the second time in as many road games, allowing three unanswered goals in a 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes at the RBC Center.

"You know they're going to surge," Tortorella said. "You know they're going to go after us two goals down. We should be able to handle that. If we can't handle that situation, then we're in trouble."

The Lightning (10-10-2) couldn't blame tough luck. There was no late phantom holding call. There was no cryptic definition of the rule book, just possibly some brain cramps and tired feet.

"We didn't get it done," Tortorella said. "There are no excuses. It cannot happen that way. It's a hard one."

Said defenseman Shane O'Brien: "You can't lose hockey games like that if you want to be a successful team."

What frustrated Tortorella most is he believed all three goals could have been avoided.

The Lightning, which outscored Carolina 11-2 in the season's first two meetings, had taken a 3-1 lead on a magnificent goal by league points leader Vinny Lecavalier.

He took a pass from St. Louis off the sideboards, made a strong move to the net with defenseman Bret Hedican riding him the whole way and put a backhander past Cam Ward's shoulder.

The goal, which both quieted and awed the Carolina crowd, was Tampa Bay's second in a span of 79 seconds. Vinny Prospal scored off another nice pass - a last-second, across-the-crease flick - from St. Louis.

The Lightning held Carolina to just 10 shots through two periods.

But the Hurricanes narrowed the lead to one just 1:56 into the third when Ray Whitney's wrister went through defenseman Brad Lukowich and over Johan Holmqvist's right shoulder, a play that came off a Tampa Bay turnover.

"When you have a lead like that going into the third period, those first five minutes are so important," Tortorella said. "You just can't give them the puck. When you don't have a play, you can't give them the puck. ... You can't give that team a goal early in the period on just a nothing play."

Carolina scored 4:05 later when Rod Brind'Amour caught the Lightning on a bad line change. He found Justin Williams for a three-on-two, and Williams beat Holmqvist high again.

By that time, with the score tied, the Lightning could barely sniff the puck. And with the control shifted, it seemed only a matter of time before the Hurricanes would pull out the winner, which came from defenseman Glen Wesley's wrister from the left circle at 8:39.

"If we think we're going to beat teams like this, you've got to play a lot harder than that when you're up two goals," St. Louis said.

"We couldn't get the puck. When we had the puck, we gave it back to them, and they kept coming."

[Last modified November 24, 2007, 00:57:11]