TAMPA, 29 May 2004 — The Tampa Bay Lightning got special performances from Nikolai Khabibulin and Vincent Lecavalier and stellar special teams play on Thursday to get back in the National Hockey League Stanley Cup finals.
Khabibulin came within 7:39 of his league-leading fifth playoff shutout and Lecavalier had a pair of assists while throwing his body all over the ice as the Lightning evened the best-of-seven series at one win apiece with a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.
Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis each had a goal and an assist and Dave Andreychuk chipped in two assists for Tampa Bay. Coming off Tuesday’s 4-1 loss, Lightning coach John Tortorella expected Khabibulin to be the best player. He was one of the best, stopping 18 shots and helping Tampa Bay kill four first-period power plays. Khabibulin improved to 5-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average following defeats in this year’s playoffs. Lecavalier set a physical tone early with a hit on defenseman Andrew Ference, then made a spectacular play to set up the Lightning’s first goal.
Just over seven minutes into the first period, Lecavalier banked the puck off the back of the net to get away from a defender then threw a pass to the point.
Defenseman Darryl Sydor’s blast was stopped by Miikka Kiprusoff, but Ruslan Fedotenko backhanded his own rebound past the goaltender for his ninth playoff goal. It was just the fifth first-period goal allowed by the Flames in the postseason and the first in 10 games. Calgary managed just two harmless shots on its four power plays in the opening period and trailed heading to the second period for the first time since Game Four of the Western Conference semifinals against Detroit. Kiprusoff stopped Richards on a shorthanded breakaway early in the second and the Flames were gaining momentum until Lecavalier leveled 232-pound Chris Simon with a clean hit along the boards midway through the period.
Kiprusoff stopped Lecavalier from the top of the crease late in the second, but Calgary broke open the game with three goals in a 3:07 span of the third. Richards picked up a loose puck off a blocked shot and flipped it by Kiprusoff at 2:51, just 69 seconds before defenseman Dan Boyle scored on the Lightning’s next shot to make it 3-0. The goal came two nights after Boyle’s house was partially destroyed by an electrical fire.
St. Louis got his second goal in as many games during a two-man advantage at 5:58, redirecting a pass from Lecavalier. Ville Nieminen spoiled Khabibulin’s shutout bid with 7:39 left in regulation.
The 124 combined penalty minutes for both clubs was the third most in a game in Stanley Cup finals history — the Flames were whistled for 17 penalties for 64 minutes, the Lightning for 15 penalties for 60 minutes, thanks largely to a fight-filled final period.
