Stamkos gets 1st goal in 11 months, Lightning win
TAMPA, FLA. » Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since having right knee surgery last November and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Thursday night.
Stamkos made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 3:49 of the second period from the low left circle. The Lightning star previously scored Nov. 15th at Detroit, the same game that he had a season-ending lateral meniscus tear in the knee.
Stamkos entered with five assists in three games this season.
Slater Koekkoek got his first two NHL goals, and Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov also scored for the Lightning. Alex Killorn had four assists, while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves.
Pittsburgh got goals from Jake Guentzel, Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust and Matt Hunwick. Antti Niemi, who allowed four goals on 13 shots over 9:16 against Chicago on Oct. 5 in his Penguins debut, stopped 29 shots.
After Stamkos tied Vincent Lecavalier for the Lightning team record with 112 power-play goals, Sheary and Kucherov traded goals later in the second.
Rust scored on the power play to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 5:36 to go in the period.
Koekkoek got his first goal, coming in his 43rd game, 6:07 into the first. His second extended the lead to 5-3 late in the second. PANTHERS 5, BLUES 2 » Roberto Luongo moved into a tie for fourth on the NHL career victory list with 474, making 37 saves to help Florida beat St. Louis.
The 38-year-old Luongo with Curtis Joseph on the list.
Vincent Trocheck scored the goahead goal, Ian McCoshen had his first NHL goal, and Jared McCann, Aaron Ekblad and Nick Bjugstad also connected for Florida. is tied career