Lightning Jolt Kings For Fifth Straight Victory
NHL
Daren Puppa made 45 saves and Shawn Burr had a goal and an assist Monday night, sending the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 in St. Petersburg, Fla., for their fifth straight victory.
Puppa registered his first shutout this season and helped Tampa Bay establish a franchise-high winning streak. Los Angeles dropped its fifth in a row, losing every game on its road trip.
“When you get goaltending like that, and Puppa’s been unreal, you just worry about keeping the lanes open in front of him and give him a good look at the puck,” defenseman Bill Houlder said.
Puppa preserved the shutout with point-blank saves on Dimitri Khristich and Vitali Yachmenev early in the third period.
Lightning 2, Kings 0
Los Angeles 0 0 0 - 0
Tampa Bay 2 0 0 - 2
First period-1, Tampa Bay, Selivanov 12 (Hamrlik, Burr), 5:40. 2, Tampa Bay, Burr 7 (Houlder, Cullen), 12:59.
Second period-None.
Third period-None.
Shots on goal-Los Angeles 13-16-16-45. Tampa Bay 17-10-13-40.Power-play opp.-Los Angeles 0 of 4; Tampa Bay 0 of 2.Goalies-Los Angeles, Hrudey 0-2-0 (40 shots-38 saves). Tampa Bay, Puppa 9-4-4 (45-45). A-16,415 (28,000)
Sabres 2, Blues 0
St. Louis
Pat LaFontaine scored two first-period goals, one with St. Louis short handed, and Dominik Hasek blocked 30 shots as Buffalo beat the Blues.
The Blues are winless in their last five games and have lost four of their last seven, scoring a total of 14 goals during that stretch.
Buffalo 2 0 0 - 2
St. Louis 0 0 0 - 0
First period-1, Buffalo, LaFontaine 6 (Audette, Muni), 1:19. 2, Buffalo, LaFontaine 7 (Galley), 12:26 (sh).
Second period-None.
Third period-None.
Shots on goal-Buffalo 16-9-7-32. St. Louis 6-9-15-30.Power-play opp.-Buffalo 0 of 13; St. Louis 0 of 7.Goalies-Buffalo, Hasek 9-9-2 (30 shots-30 saves). St. Louis, Fuhr 8-12-3 (32-30).A-15,765 (19,260).
Rangers 1, Devils 1, tie
New York
Mike Richter stopped 40 of 41 shots as New York tied New Jersey, extending the Stanley Cup champion’s winless streak to six games.
At 5:02 of the first period, Bruce Driver of the Rangers scored his first goal of the season, connecting against the club he played for for 12 years. Bill Guerin tied the game for New Jersey with 14 seconds left in the first period.
The Rangers entered the game with six consecutive victories at home. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur stopped 27 of 28 shots.
New Jersey 1 0 0 0 - 1
N.Y. Rangers 1 0 0 0 - 1
First Period-1, New York, Driver 1 (Robitaille, Ferraro), 5:02 (pp). 2, New Jersey, Guerin 4 (Thomas, Sykora), 19:46.
Second Period-None.
Third Period-None.
Overtime-None.
Shots on goal-New Jersey 13-16-10-2-41. New York 6-9-12-1-28.Power-play opp.-New Jersey 0 of 4; New York 1 of 4.Goalies-New Jersey, Brodeur 7-9-3 (28 shots-27 saves). New York, Richter 8-7-2 (41-40).A-18,200 (18,200).