Rookie Craig sparks Lightning
The defending Stanley Cup champions got a big lift from a rookie.
Ryan Craig had his first two-goal game in the NHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-3, last night in Tampa, Fla.
''Go the net, sometimes you get lucky," Craig said. ''Being in the right place at the right time. It's good to help the team out."
Craig has 12 goals in 33 games this season.
Vinny Prospal, Fredrik Modin, Vincent Lecavalier, and Brad Richards also scored for the Lightning, who won for the third time in nine games. Tampa Bay has won eight straight against Philadelphia, the team it defeated in the 2004 Eastern Conference finals.
''Both teams really look forward to playing against one another," Lightning coach John Tortorella said.
The Lightning are seventh in the East. They have a 3-point lead over eighth-place Montreal and are 4 ahead of ninth-place Atlanta.
Philadelphia got goals from Peter Forsberg, Jeff Carter, and Niko Dimitrakos. The Flyers, 2 points behind the Atlantic Division-leading New York Rangers, are 3-5-1 since the Olympic break.
''What's disappointing is we had a lot of effort," Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said. ''We made some mistakes. You don't want to waste efforts like we had tonight."
Canucks 3, Blue Jackets 2 -- Brendan Morrison's pass struck Columbus forward Manny Malhotra and caromed into the net, snapping a third-period tie to help visiting Vancouver snap a season-high, five-game losing streak.
Morrison's attempted centering pass from the left corner hit Malhotra and landed behind goaltender Pascal Leclaire with 6:11 remaining.
Mattias Ohlund and Anson Carter also scored for the Canucks, who are struggling to stay in a playoff position. They entered the night in the final spot in the Western Conference, but Anaheim and San Jose have been closing quickly.
Ron Hainsey and Malhotra scored for the Blue Jackets, well out of the playoff race and losers of three in a row. Columbus's past five games have been decided by one goal.
Panthers 4, Islanders 2 -- Juraj Kolnik scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:07 left, lifting host Florida.
Jay Bouwmeester, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Martin Gelinas netted the other goals for Florida, and Jamie McLennan made 24 saves.
Miroslav Satan scored both New York goals. Rick DiPietro stopped 40 saves but it wasn't enough to keep the Islanders from losing for the second straight night following a four-game winning streak that got them back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The 10th-place Islanders are 5 points behind Montreal, which currently holds the final postseason spot.
Mighty Ducks 2, Blackhawks 1 -- Andy McDonald scored twice and Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 22 saves to lead visiting Anaheim. Vitaly Vishnevski assisted on both goals for the Mighty Ducks, who have won four of five.
Anaheim, with 76 points, moved one behind eighth-place Los Angeles and the final Western Conference playoff spot.
Giguere sealed the win by making a point-blank save on Patrick Sharp in the final seconds.
