Stamkos scores shootout goal in Lightning win
Last Updated: Saturday, September 20, 2008 | 11:28 PM ET
CBC Sports
Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning tries to get by Ben Lovejoy of Pittsburgh during Saturday's game. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)No. 1 draft pick Steve Stamkos made his NHL debut in style on Saturday, scoring a shootout goal to help the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 in pre-season action.
Stamkos — who had been held off the scoresheet during the game — and Jussi Jokinen scored on Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout at the game in Pittsburgh. Miroslav Satan and Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins could not beat Tampa Bay goalie Karri Ramo.
In other NHL pre-season action, a trio of veteran forwards scored to give Ottawa a 3-2 home win over the New York Rangers at Scotiabank Place.
The four teams will be in action when Hockey Night in Canada presents the beginning of the 2008-09 NHL season with a pair of games from Europe on Oct. 4.
Tampa Bay will play New York in Prague, Czech Republic, at 12 p.m. ET. The game will be followed by a battle between Pittsburgh and Ottawa in Stockholm, Sweden.
The games will also be streamed at CBCSports.ca.
Stamkos, who wore his favourite No. 91 on Saturday, was the first Canadian selected at the head of a draft class since Pittsburgh took Sidney Crosby in 2005.
Crosby scored a short-handed goal with just under three minutes left on Saturday to give Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead, but Brandon Bochenski tied the game with his second goal.
The game also marked Barry Melrose's first behind an NHL bench in over a dozen years. Melrose was hired by Tampa Bay in the off-season after spending the past decade in broadcasting. Melrose coached Los Angeles for nearly three seasons in the early 1990s.
Pittsburgh defenceman Sergei Gonchar left the game in the first period, not long after taking a hit from Tampa Bay's David Koci.
Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Mike Fisher staked Ottawa to a 3-0 lead and the Senators held on for the win over the Rangers. Martin Gerber made 23 saves, with Brian Elliott also seeing action to finish with 11 stops.
Defenceman Jason Smith and Filip Kuba, both acquired by the Senators over the summer, assisted on the first goal of the game, scored by Heatley.
