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Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning Open Road Swing In Style

Defeat Atlanta 4-1, Behind Two St. Louis Goals

The Tampa Bay Lightning started their 10 day, five-game road trip in good style tonight, stopping the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-1.

The Lightning went about their business in a determined fashion, opening the scoring at 2:48 of the first period when defenseman Steve Eminger netted a power play goal from the point on the first Lightning shot of the game. The goal, Eminger’s third of the season, was assisted by Jussi Jokinen and Adam Hall.

Mike Smith, making his tenth consecutive start in the net for the Lightning, was equal to all seven shots he faced in the first period. The Lightning had 13 shots on Thrasher netminder Kari Lehtonen.

The Lightning nursed their one goal advantage into the second period and Smith made several outstanding saves early in the stanza, especially against Vyacheslav Kozlov and Jim Slater, to maintain the 1-0 lead until Tampa bay picked up the pace, late in the period.

At the 16:20 mark of the period, Tampa Bay broke through again as Vincent Lecavalier faked a slapshot before sliding the puck cross-ice to Martin St. Louis. St. Louis’s goal, his 14th of the season, opened the Lightning lead to 2-0. Vaclav Prospal was also awarded an assist.

As the period ended, Thrasher defenseman Tobias Enstrom was sent off for tripping, and he remained in the box as the third period began. Skating with the man advantage sixty seconds into the third period, St. Louis collected his second goal of the night and 15th of the season when he took a pass from Prospal behind the Atlanta net and beat Lehtonen. The score extended the Lightning lead to 3-0 and was the second power play goal of the night for Tampa Bay.

With less than two minutes remaining in the game, Ryan Malone issued an insurance goal, his tenth of the season, when he knocked home his own rebound. Jeff Halpern and Vladimir Mihakik got credit for the assists.

At the other end of the ice, Smith continued to thwart every scoring attempt by the Thrashers, including two acrobatic saves on shots by Ilya Kovalchuk. He lost his shutout bid when Erik Christensen scored with only 21.2 seconds remaining.

“I wanted to get the shutout for Smitty,” Tampa Bay interim coach Rick Tocchet said.

But it didn’t seem to bother Smith, who was pleased with the win.

“It didn’t matter,” said Smith, who finished with 27 saves. “The win is what’s important; a shutout is just a bonus.”

For the Lightning, there was a lot to like as they outshot Atlanta 35 – 28, and went 2-4 on the power play, a spot they have wanted to improve of late. Additionally, the victory moved the Bolts one point ahead of the Thrashers in the Southeast Division. They can now focus on overtaking The Florida Panthers, eight points ahead in the standings.

The team flies west now; there are four more road games ahead and one win is under their belt. Up next are three travel and rest days before the Bolts lace up their skates against the Phoenix Coyotes, Thursday night.

Lonnie Herman | TBL.com correspondent

Lightning Schedule

2008-2009 Regular Season Schedule

Thu Jan 8, 2009 Lightning Coyotes 9:00 PM
Fri Jan 9, 2009 Lightning Ducks 10:00 PM
Mon Jan 12, 2009 Lightning Kings 10:30 PM
Tue Jan 13, 2009 Lightning Sharks 10:30 PM
Thu Jan 15, 2009 Flyers Lightning 7:30 PM
Sat Jan 17, 2009 Panthers Lightning 7:30 PM
Mon Jan 19, 2009 Stars Lightning 7:30 PM
Wed Jan 21, 2009 Sabres Lightning 7:30 PM
Tue Jan 27, 2009 Canadiens Lightning 7:30 PM
Thu Jan 29, 2009 Lightning Hurricanes 7:00 PM
Fri Jan 30, 2009 Flyers Lightning 7:30 PM

Tue Feb 3, 2009 Lightning Islanders 7:00 PM
Wed Feb 4, 2009 Lightning Penguins 7:30 PM
Sat Feb 7, 2009 Islanders Lightning 7:30 PM
Tue Feb 10, 2009 Thrashers Lightning 7:30 PM
Thu Feb 12, 2009 Maple Leafs Lightning 7:30 PM
Sat Feb 14, 2009 Capitals Lightning 7:30 PM
Tue Feb 17, 2009 Blackhawks Lightning 7:30 PM
Thu Feb 19, 2009 Devils Lightning 7:30 PM
Fri Feb 20, 2009 Lightning Hurricanes 7:00 PM
Sun Feb 22, 2009 Bruins Lightning 5:00 PM
Tue Feb 24, 2009 Lightning Oilers 9:00 PM
Fri Feb 27, 2009 Lightning Canucks 10:00 PM

Sun Mar 1, 2009 Lightning Flames 8:00 PM
Tue Mar 3, 2009 Penguins Lightning 7:30 PM
Fri Mar 6, 2009 Blues Lightning 7:30 PM
Sat Mar 7, 2009 Hurricanes Lightning 7:30 PM
Wed Mar 11, 2009 Lightning Senators 7:00 PM
Thu Mar 12, 2009 Lightning Maple Leafs 7:30 PM
Sat Mar 14, 2009 Lightning Panthers 7:00 PM
Tue Mar 17, 2009 Maple Leafs Lightning 7:30 PM
Thu Mar 19, 2009 Capitals Lightning 7:30 PM
Sat Mar 21, 2009 Thrashers Lightning 7:30 PM
Tue Mar 24, 2009 Blue Jackets Lightning 7:30 PM
Thu Mar 26, 2009 Lightning Canadiens 7:30 PM
Fri Mar 27, 2009 Lightning Capitals 7:00 PM
Sun Mar 29, 2009 Senators Lightning 6:00 PM
Tue Mar 31, 2009 Lightning Bruins 7:00 PM

Fri Apr 3, 2009 Lightning Devils 7:00 PM
Sat Apr 4, 2009 Lightning Islanders 7:00 PM
Tue Apr 7, 2009 Penguins Lightning 7:30 PM
Thu Apr 9, 2009 Capitals Lightning 7:30 PM
Sat Apr 11, 2009 Lightning Thrashers 7:00 PM