| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Richard Shulmistra found the wait worthwhile.
The 28-year old rookie stopped 20 shots in winning his first NHL
game, and Pavel Bure extended his club-record point streak to 11 games with two assists as the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay
Lightning 6-1 Monday night.
|  | | Tampa Bay's Darcy Tucker squares off with Lance Pitlick. |
"What do you say?" said Shulmistra, who appeared in just his
second career game. "To finally get a 'W', it's something you
dream about since you were 4-years old playing on the street.
That's what I dreamed about."
Shulmistra's only other NHL appearance came with New Jersey in a
2-1 overtime loss to Florida on Jan. 1, 1998. The goalie lost his
shutout bid when Dan Kesa scored a short-handed goal with 3:14 left
in the third period.
"He made a couple great saves, a couple breakaways he stopped," Bure said. "He played really well for us. We were trying to help him as much as we could."
Cam Stewart and Scott Mellanby each scored twice for Florida.
The Panthers have won six straight against the Lightning, who
dropped their sixth consecutive game.
The six-game losing skid is Tampa Bay's longest this season. The
Lightning is 1-6-2 against Southeast Division opponents.
"It was embarrassing," Tampa Bay coach Steve Ludzik said.
The Tampa Bay players held a players-only meeting after the
game, which was still in session nearly an hour after the game.
Bure, who has 12 goals and 22 points during his 11-game scoring
streak, assisted on Mellanby's first period goal.
"I'm trying not to think about," Bure said. "As long as the
team is playing well, and you're winning, that's the whole thing.
There were times I was scoring and the team was losing, and that's
no fun."
Stewart scored twice during a 2:33 span, late in the second,
putting the Panthers up 3-0. He also assisted on Mark Parrish's
third period power-play goal.
Stewart made it 2-0 at 16:34 of the second when he reached from
behind the net and directed the puck past Dan Cloutier. His second
goal came on an in-close wrist shot.
Jaroslav Spacek also scored for the Panthers.
Florida defenseman Bret Hedican left with a slight concussion
after a hard hit late in the first period and did not return.
The teams combined for 21 penalties -- including nine majors.
Tampa Bay's Darcy Tucker set a team-record with 49 penalty minutes,
coming on two roughing minors, two fighting majors, a spearing
major and two game misconducts.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Florida Clubhouse
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 5
Calgary 1
Montreal 4
Ottawa 4
Chicago 2
Washington 2
Detroit 3
Atlanta 2
New Jersey 4
Buffalo 1
NY Islanders 3
Boston 0
Florida 6
Tampa Bay 1
Edmonton 4
Anaheim 1
San Jose 3
Dallas 1
Colorado 5
St. Louis 1
|
