GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: WASHINGTON (6-12) at TAMPA BAY (9-9)

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- The NHL's hottest player was at itagain Friday night.


Vincent Lecavalier scored a goal and set up two others as theTampa Bay Lightning posted their fifth straight win, a 5-2triumph over the Washington Capitals in a matchup of SoutheastDivision foes.


Lecavalier has registered seven consecutive multi-point efforts,tying Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux's all-time record. He hassix goals and 13 assists over that stretch.


Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis also had a goal and twoassists apiece for the Lightning, who have exploded for 24 goalsduring their winning streak.


"We weren't our best tonight," Richards said. "We talked aboutit when we were losing. Sometimes you lose some games that youmight think you had a good chance of winning.


"Tonight, I'm not saying we played good enough in certain areas.We were very opportunistic. When we had our chances, weburied them, and that's probably why we won."


Lecavalier wasted little time getting on the scoresheet,notching a power-play goal 91 seconds into the first period. Itwas his 13th tally of the season.


St. Louis and Richards both picked up assists on the play. Theyhave combined with Lecavalier for 79 points this season, makingthem the top trio in the NHL.


Lecavalier nearly netted another goal minutes later but wasdenied when goaltender Brent Johnson turned aside his attemptwith his left pad.


Lecavalier tied Lemieux's record, set in 2002, when he set upRichards' goal with 9:38 remaining in the second period.Richards blasted a slap shot that beat Johnson to the gloveside, giving the Lightning a 3-2 edge.


He collected another assist on St. Louis' empty-net tally with23 seconds left in the third.


Brooks Laich tied the game at 1-1 with 7:14 to go in the firstperiod, when he tipped defenseman Shaone Morrisonn's shot fromjust above the right faceoff circle past goaltender JohanHolmqvist for his third of the season.


Alex Ovechkin netted his 13th goal less than a minute later togive the Capitals a 2-1 lead, but Jan Hlavac answered for theLightning 1:49 afterward to forge a tie.


Holmqvist, who was making his seventh straight start for TampaBay, turned aside 28 shots.


"Holmqvist certainly has done his job, tonight especially,"Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "And I don't think wewere on our game through most of it. But teams that end upbeing there at the end of the year win these types of games.Credit goes, starting with Holmqvist, right on through the team,as far as just trying to find a way to win."


Defenseman Paul Ranger scored his career-high fourth tally ofthe season with 28 seconds remaining in the middle session togive the Lightning a 4-2 lead. He also had four goals in 72games last campaign.


"We're just going to play it the same way we've played everygame so far," Ranger said. "We're going to play hard and we'regoing to play our system and keep going for the wins here."

 

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- The NHL's hottest player was at itagain Friday night.


Vincent Lecavalier scored a goal and set up two others as theTampa Bay Lightning posted their fifth straight win, a 5-2triumph over the Washington Capitals in a matchup of SoutheastDivision foes.


Lecavalier has registered seven consecutive multi-point efforts,tying Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux's all-time record. He hassix goals and 13 assists over that stretch.


Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis also had a goal and twoassists apiece for the Lightning, who have exploded for 24 goalsduring their winning streak.


"We weren't our best tonight," Richards said. "We talked aboutit when we were losing. Sometimes you lose some games that youmight think you had a good chance of winning.


"Tonight, I'm not saying we played good enough in certain areas.We were very opportunistic. When we had our chances, we buriedthem, and that's probably why we won."


Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella also was not very pleased withthe entire team's effort.


"We need to get more out of our secondary people in situationalplay," he said. "That's what disturbs me tonight, is that ourtop guys are counted on both offensively and defensively, and Ican't get a couple of shifts in a row out of our secondarypeople.


"We're not going to win hockey games unless we get thatstraightened out. Those guys have to step up, and that's what'sfrustrating to me."


Lecavalier wasted little time getting on the scoresheet,notching a power-play goal 91 seconds into the first period. Itwas his 13th tally of the season.


St. Louis and Richards both picked up assists on the play. Theyhave combined with Lecavalier for 79 points this season, makingthem the top trio in the NHL.


Lecavalier nearly netted another goal minutes later but wasdenied when goaltender Brent Johnson turned aside his attemptwith his left pad.


Lecavalier tied Lemieux's record, set in 2002, when he set upRichards' goal with 9:38 remaining in the second period.Richards blasted a slap shot that beat Johnson to the gloveside, giving the Lightning a 3-2 edge.


He collected another assist on St. Louis' empty-net tally with23 seconds left in the third.


Brooks Laich tied the game at 1-1 with 7:14 to go in the firstperiod, when he tipped defenseman Shaone Morrisonn's shot fromjust above the right faceoff circle past goaltender JohanHolmqvist for his third of the season.


Alex Ovechkin netted his 13th goal less than a minute later togive the Capitals a 2-1 lead, but Jan Hlavac answered for theLightning 1:49 afterward to forge a tie.


Washington has lost seven of its last eight games.

"The Washington team reminds me of us a couple of weeks ago -trying to find a way to win," Tortorella said. "They playedtheir butts off against Florida (Thursday) night, they playedhard tonight and they're not getting rewarded. We're veryfortunate to win this hockey game."


Holmqvist, who was making his seventh straight start for TampaBay, turned aside 28 shots.


"Holmqvist certainly has done his job, tonight especially,"Tortorella said. "And I don't think we were on our game throughmost of it. But teams that end up being there at the end ofthe year win these types of games. Credit goes, starting withHolmqvist, right on through the team, as far as just trying tofind a way to win."


"Holmqvist has been playing great, very consistent," Lightningdefenseman Paul Ranger added. "Can't say much more than that.He's been unbelievable a couple of these nights here."

Ranger scored his career-high fourth tally of the season with 28seconds remaining in the middle session to give the Lightning a4-2 lead. He also had four goals in 72 games last campaign.

"We're just going to play it the same way we've played everygame so far," Ranger said. "We're going to play hard and we'regoing to play our system and keep going for the wins here."