National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Tampa Bay 4, New Jersey 3
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 26, 2012
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Referees: Kyle Rehman, Dan O'Rourke
Linesmen: Ryan Galloway, Paul Devorski
Attendance: 15981


LIGHTNING 4, DEVILS 3: Martin St. Louis recorded his sixth career hat trick - and second this month - as visiting Tampa Bay edged New Jersey.

St. Louis, who also scored three times against Florida on Feb. 4, has 22 tallies to reach the 20-goal plateau for the ninth straight season.

After Petr Sykora tied the game at 2-2 for the Devils at 2:28 of the third period, St. Louis assisted on defenseman Matt Gilroy’s goal 41 seconds later. St. Louis capped his hat trick at 10:18 off a pass from Teddy Purcell, who had three assists.

Captain Zach Parise scored with 2:35 remaining on the power play to pull the Devils within 4-3.

St. Louis tied the game at 1-1 at 6:39 of the second period on a breakaway after a bad line change by the Devils. He pounded home a rebound on the power play for a 2-1 lead at 14:55.

Lightning goalie Mathieu Garon made 19 saves, assisted on St. Louis’ first goal and earned his 20th victory for the first time since he played for the Edmonton Oilers in 2007-08.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Lightning were without defenseman Victor Hedman, who suffered an upper-body injury against Pittsburgh on Saturday. ... Rookie defenseman Adam Larsson returned to the lineup for the Devils after missing the last 10 games with a back injury. ... Alexei Ponikarovsky scored his fifth goal in 15 games since being acquired from Carolina.

Top Game Performances
 
Tampa Bay   New Jersey
Martin St. Louis 4 Points Zach Parise 1
Martin St. Louis 3 Goals Zach Parise 1
Teddy Purcell 3 Assists Steve Bernier 1
Martin St. Louis 1 Power Play Goals Zach Parise 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Mathieu Garon .864 Save Percentage Martin Brodeur .750
Mathieu Garon 19 Saves Martin Brodeur 12
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Tampa Bay 16 4 1-3 3-4 8 26
New Jersey 22 3 1-4 2-3 6 27
Upcoming Games
  • New Jersey will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Devils have a W/L % of .583 after a win and .560 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Lightning have a W/L % of .519 after a win and .400 after a loss.