Tampa Bay (12-19-10) at Los Angeles (17-18-6), 10:30 pm EST
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are finally
starting to display the quality of team character that interim
coach Rick Tocchet has been preaching.
The Lightning hope to continue that trend Monday, when they
visit the Los Angeles Kings.
Ryan Malone scored two goals, including the game-winner midway
through the third period, as the Lightning bounced back from a
lethargic effort by edging the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3, on Friday.
"I thought the guys showed the stuff we were talking about - the
will, the character to will the win," Tocchet said. "That is
the sort of stuff we are looking at right there. That can go a
long way for a lot of players when you win games like that."
Martin St. Louis netted a goal and set up two others, Vaclav
Prospal also tallied and All-Star Vincent Lecavalier notched two
assists for the Lightning, who have won two of their last three
contests after dropping three straight.
The lone blemish in the current span came on Thursday, when the
Phoenix Coyotes skated
to a 3-2 win and triggered Tocchet to slam his team's culture,
calling it "terrible."
The Kings struggled in their last outing, suffering a 5-1 loss
to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Los Angeles has lost
eight of its previous 12 contests.