A night of firsts, Lightning strikes down Sharks 5-2

October 23, 1:58 AMTampa Bay Lightning ExaminerAlthea Pashman

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Vincent Lecavalier (4) and Mattias Ohlund (5) celebrate with
James Wright (43) after he netted his first NHL goal. 
(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
 

Coach Rick Tocchet must have had more than a premonition or a look into the crystal ball when he decided during Sunday’s practice that he needed to make some changes. The changes were significant as Vincent Lecavalier had two new linemates on his side – Marty St. Louis and rookie James Wright.

The Lightning’s top two lines were changed in an effort to get Lecavalier out of his slump and to add some much needed scoring from more than just St. Louis, Ryan Malone and Steven Stamkos.

The line change paid off as the Lightning stung the Sharks 5-2 behind a 32-save effort from Mike Smith and goals from four different players.

St. Louis along with Stamkos and Malone were the one line that Tocchet really didn’t want to change, considering that the three had combined for 13 goals and 25 points in the Bolts first seven games. But, when your top line nets just one goal with 8 assists a change was necessary.

It didn’t take long for the new trio to get acquainted; matter of fact on their first shift just 30 seconds into the game James Wright slid the puck in past Sharks netminder Evengi Nabokov for his first NHL goal but more importantly, getting that first goal seemed to have set the tone for the night.

“James Wright was tremendous tonight. It’s nice to see a 19-year-old kid who comes here with a smile every day, and he works as hard as anybody, maybe harder. He’s a breath of fresh air. I’m really proud of him to score the goal tonight. It was a nice effort,” said Coach Rick Tocchet in his post-game conference.

“We got a big goal, first NHL goal for him and everyone was excited. I think it gave the whole team a boost. We played a great game tonight, we deserved to win,” said Mike Smith.

Steven Stamkos (91) celebrates with Alex Tanguay (13)
and Mattias Ohlund (5) after scoring his empty-net goal with 19 seconds
remaining in the game.  (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Not only was Wright’s goal his first in his very young 8-game NHL career, but it was also the Lightning’s first game that they scored the opening goal.

The play was started by Wright as he carried the puck up through the neutral zone passing the puck to Lecavalier along the right-side boards. Lecavalier then passed the puck to St. Louis, who was stationed just to the left of Nabokov. St. Louis quickly made a perfect cross-ice pass that landed on Wright’s skate as he was going towards the net.

St. Louis has now scored a point in eight consecutive games, picking up 9 assists and 12 points.

Despite not scoring a goal in his 15th consecutive game, Tocchet was pleased with Lecavalier’s effort. “I think it was his (Lecavalier) most solid game of the year. I don’t care that he didn’t score tonight, but he was very solid. He went end-to-end with Thornton and Marleau, and we expect that from Vinny. It was a solid effort from Vinny tonight.”

Ryan Malone put the Lightning up 2-0 at the 15:01 mark as he redirected David Hale’s shot from the blueline tipping it in past Nabokov. David Hale picked up his first Lightning point while Malone increased his team goal lead to seven.

San Jose cut the Lightning’s in half when Ryan Vesce scored at 12:34 of the second period. The goal was Vesce’s third giving him three goals in consecutive games since his call-up last Friday.

The Lightning increased their lead to 3-1 with just over three minutes remaining in the second period as Steve Stamkos scored his fifth goal of the season. Andrej Meszaros’ wrist-shot at the 2:54 mark of the third period beat Nabokov, giving the Lightning a 3-goal cushion for a 4-1 lead. Former Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle added a power-play goal with just over six minutes to play, to bring the Sharks back within two-goals.

Stamkos had an empty-netter (his sixth goal of the season and second on the night) to close the scoring for the Lightning with 19 seconds remaining in the third period. Alex Tanguay on his new line with Stamkos and Malone passed up the opportunity to score the empty-netter when he passed the puck over to Stamkos.

“To me, making the pass is as rewarding as getting the goal,” Tanguay smiled. “Stamkos is hot and with the way I’ve been snake bit I didn’t want to miss the net. I felt I was pretty safe giving it to him.”

Mike Smith, makes one of his 32 saves taking this one off the
face mask during the second period. 
(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

The win was Smith’s first of the year and his first since January 27, 2009 when he defeated Montreal 5-3.

“It feels good to get over that hump and get the first win and making key saves. I worked really hard during practice this week and made sure I was ready for this game. We came out with a great effort and got a big goal,” said a proud Mike Smith following the game.

“Well we wanted to bounce back from that road trip obviously so it was a great win for everybody. Everybody played their role and chipped in. It’s nice to get a lot of guys on the score sheet. Guys feel good about themselves, it was a team win,” said Martin St. Louis of his club's will to win.

Tampa Bay’s win over the Sharks snapped a five-game winless streak, which last defeated the Sharks on March 24, 2003 in San Jose. The win at home was the first since 2002 against San Jose.

Evgeni Nabokov took the loss after allowing four goals on just 24 shots. There was some speculation that Nabokov would get the night off as he had started all eight Sharks’ contests this season and because the team would have back-to-back games over the weekend.

The loss evened the Sharks current road record to 2-2, and 5-4-1 on the season. "We're not playing anywhere near as well as we should," said Sharks defenseman Rob Blake. "We haven't yet established the type of team we're gonna be and what style we're gonna play."

“Tonight was interesting because as a coach you say we win as a team, we lose as a team, but I look at some very glaring individuals and mistakes from guys who shouldn’t be making them,” said Sharks Coach Todd McLellan.

“We’re thirty seconds in and Dan Boyle shouldn’t make the mistake that Dan Boyle made. We go to the wrong spot on the forecheck and the puck is in our net. So different things like that are the things that cost the team, so we have to be better prepared than that. That lies on my shoulders as a coach and the coaching staff, but it also lies on the leaders of this team.”

Final Game Notes:

Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton were held to zero shots in the game, Sharks defenseman Jason Demers assisted on Ryan Vesce’s goal and has five assists in his last three games. Thornton tied San Jose GM Doug Wilson and Dave Keon for 74th on the career assists list (590) when he assisted on Dan Boyle’s goal.

Steven Stamkos has four goals and six points over his last four games. The Lightning had just one power-play opportunity all night while Zenon Konopka dominated in the face-off circle winning six of seven. As a team, the Lightning had 12 block shots, led by rookie Victor Hedman with three. Hedman for the eighth consecutive game logged just over 24 minutes on the ice.

• James Wright scored his first NHL goal 30 seconds into the game.
• Wright’s goal was the first time this season Tampa Bay scored the first goal of a game.
• The win was the Lightning’s first against San Jose since March 24, 2003.
• Tampa Bay’s five goals scored in the game tied their season high (10/10 at Carolina).
• With an assist Martin St. Louis now has at least a point in each of the Lightning’s games this season (3G-9A).

Three Stars of the Game:

1st:  Martin St. Louis
2nd: Mike Smith
3rd:  Matt Walker

For more info: 
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