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Lightning tops Maple Leafs

 
Ryan Callahan puts the Lightning up 2-0 in the last five minutes of the first period with his 21st goal of the season.
Ryan Callahan puts the Lightning up 2-0 in the last five minutes of the first period with his 21st goal of the season.
Published March 6, 2015

TAMPA — It's hard for the Lightning not to notice the standings.

There has been a dry erase board with updated point totals in its home locker room the past couple of weeks as Tampa Bay jostles for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. But captain Steven Stamkos made one thing clear:

"It's pretty much up in our hands where we finish," Stamkos said.

And with a second straight victory, 4-2 over the Maple Leafs on Thursday night at Amalie Arena, the Lightning pulled within one point of Atlantic Division-leading Montreal, pending its late result against the Kings.

No matter what the Canadiens do down the stretch, Tampa Bay (40-20-6) just needs to keep banking points in games against struggling teams, like it did Tuesday against the Sabres and Thursday against Toronto — and, it hopes, Saturday against the Stars.

One of the Lightning's biggest weapons has been home ice. It has won 14 of its past 16 games at Amalie Arena.

"We kind of dig in our heels a little bit and say, 'This is our house; we've got to protect it,' " coach Jon Cooper said. "And we've done that. And it's why we're where we are in the standings right now."

The Lightning was in control of this one most of the way, taking a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Nikita Kucherov (his 24th) and Ryan Callahan (his 21st). But Tampa Bay struggled in the second period, turning the puck over too much and letting the Maple Leafs get some life.

Lulls are something the Lightning has struggled with in the past three games.

"We've had some dips for periods in our game, and we've got to eliminate those," Cooper said. "Because other teams take advantage of you. It's hard to turn it on, turn it off. We found a way (Thursday). But we've got to start stringing full 60 (minutes) together, especially down the stretch."

But the Lightning got a key goal in the third from rookie Vladislav Namestnikov, brought up Wednesday from AHL Syracuse on an emergency recall due to J.T. Brown's upper-body injury. It was his fourth of the season, first in the NHL since Oct. 30, and it ended up the winner.

"I haven't scored in a while, so it felt pretty good," Namestnikov said. "The most important thing is we got the two points."

Stamkos said it's important to take advantage of the nine homes games at Amalie Arena in the next month. The Lightning tied a franchise record for most home victories, getting 25 for a fifth time.

Stamkos was first to point out that home-ice advantage didn't mean much to the Lightning in last season's playoffs. It lost the first two games at Amalie Arena in getting swept by Montreal in the first round. But in the end, getting the advantage is still Tampa Bay's goal.

"I think over the past couple years we've been able to build each and every year to make this place tough," Stamkos said. "It's so hard to win in this league, you want to make sure you take care of home ice, and we've done that."

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Lightning 2 0 2 4
Maple Leafs 0 1 1 2
Lightning 2 0 2 4
Maple Leafs 0 1 1 2

First Period1, Tampa Bay, Kucherov 24 (Palat, Johnson), 4:25. 2, Tampa Bay, Callahan 21 (Stamkos), 15:17. PenaltiesPaquette, TB (hooking), :18.

Second Period3, Toronto, Booth 2 (Holland), 6:48. PenaltiesSill, Tor (roughing), 7:05; Coburn, TB (roughing), 7:05; Sustr, TB (holding), 12:28; Holland, Tor, major (fighting), 15:55; Paquette, TB, major (fighting), 15:55; van Riemsdyk, Tor (boarding), 19:13.

Third Period4, Tampa Bay, Namestnikov 4 (Sustr, Hedman), 6:31. 5, Tampa Bay, Killorn 13 (Stamkos, Garrison), 15:14 (pp). 6, Toronto, Panik 10 (Phaneuf, Kadri), 17:42. PenaltiesPhaneuf, Tor (boarding), 9:09; Lupul, Tor (interference), 13:45; Kucherov, TB (high-sticking), 18:11. Shots on GoalToronto 7-7-13—27. Tampa Bay 13-10-8—31. Power-play opportunitiesToronto 0 of 3; Tampa Bay 1 of 3. GoaliesToronto, Bernier 19-20-5 (31 shots-27 saves). Tampa Bay, Bishop 32-11-3 (27-25). A19,204 (19,204).