WRAL Sports Fan

Final Score: Tampa Bay 5, Carolina 2

Raleigh, NC (Sports Network) - Mathieu Garon made 32 saves and the Tampa Lightning got goals from five different players in a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Richard Panik tallied his first career NHL goal, while Steven Stamkos, Tom Pyatt, Benoit Pouliot and Marc-Andre Bergeron also lit the lamp. The Lightning, who scored four times in the final period, won for the third time in their last four games.

"The past two years we haven't had that much success on the road. Tonight I thought we played a perfect road game," Garon said.

Drayson Bowman and Chad LaRose scored for the Hurricanes, losers of a season- high three in a row. Dan Ellis stopped 34 shots.

"We got outworked," Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. "That's not acceptable in a big game in your own rink. They won all the battles."

Bergeron scored at 10:54 of the opening period when his soft wrist shot from above the left circle went through a screen and lofted past the glove of Ellis.

Garon made a sprawling save on Eric Staal's tip-in try during a power play for the Hurricanes early in the second period.

The Lightning doubled their advantage 2:11 into the third period thanks to a good individual effort from Vincent Lecavalier. He got the puck behind the net and fought off a defender before veering to the left side of the net. Lecavalier delivered a cross-crease pass to Pouliot for his sixth goal of the season.

Carolina got back within a goal 53 seconds later on Bowman's first goal of the season, a one-time blast from the high slot.

Panik, who was recalled from the Syracuse Crunch on Feb. 11 and was playing in only his sixth NHL game, extended the margin to 3-1 at the 7:37 mark. His shot from the right circle and the rebound were saved by Ellis. The puck, though, went behind Ellis and sat on the left side. Panik skated behind the net and backhanded it into the cage before Ellis had a chance to get back.

The Lightning made it two goals in 18 seconds when Pyatt scored from in front.

LaRose put in a rebound with 3:49 remaining, but Stamkos made it 5-2 on the power play with 3:22 left when he redirected the disc from in front past Ellis to solidify the Lightning taking over first place in the Southeast Division.

Game Notes

The Hurricanes have allowed four or more goals in 11 of the last 15 meetings against Tampa Bay ... Carolina is 0-4-0 against the Southeast Division this season ... Lecavalier has recorded a point in six of his past seven games (two goals, four assists) ... Tampa Bay has won six of its last seven at Carolina ... Stamkos has a team-leading 12 goals this season.