Thompson leads Lightning past Devils

Newark, NJ – Nate Thompson tallied twice and added an assist on Tuesday to help the Tampa Bay Lightning put the brakes on a five-game skid with a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

Martin St. Louis and Alexander Killorn each registered a goal and an assist, while Anders Lindback made 25 saves in the victory.

"The guys deserve it," Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said of his team snapping the skid. "We were hoping to deserve one before that, but in the end, when you get hurt so much, you learn from it a little better."

New Jersey netminder Johan Hedberg allowed three goals on 11 shots before being pulled in the second period. Rookie goaltender Keith Kinkaid stopped 12- of-13 shots in his first NHL appearance, but it wasn't enough, as the Devils dropped their sixth straight decision.

"Once I got that call, my legs started shaking," Kinkaid admitted of his debut. "Just to get that first taste of NHL hockey is surreal."

Adam Henrique and Patrik Elias each scored once in the setback.

Thompson's first tally got the Lightning going late in the first frame, as he took a nice feed from Cory Conacher before one-timing a shot through the five- hole of Hedberg to make it 1-0 at the 17:04 mark.

Tampa Bay doubled its cushion just under six minutes into the second when Killorn stopped on a dime in the low right circle and sent a feed to the low left side, where St. Louis stopped the puck with his skate before lifting one over a sprawling Hedberg to make it 2-0 at the 5:53 mark.

The visitors padded their lead later in the second when Killorn won a scrum in the right corner and skated into the slot before flipping a low shot on net that snuck past the right pad of Hedberg to make it 3-0 at the 13:13 mark.

Hedberg was promptly pulled in favor of Kinkaid, who stopped the only three shots he faced in the frame to keep the margin at 3-0 heading into the third.

Thompson added his second tally at the 8:36 mark of the final frame when he took a feed in the slot from Conacher in the right circle before ripping a shot high over Kinkaid for a 4-0 lead.

Henrique's short-handed goal at the 13:44 mark ended Lindback's bid for his first shutout of the season before Elias added a power-play tally at the 15:15 mark when he pounded home a rebound to bring New Jersey within 4-2.

B.J. Crombeen put to rest any hopes of a comeback when he potted an empty- netter at the 18:40 mark to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur (back) missed his sixth straight game ... The Devils fell to 6-3-2 at home, while Tampa Bay improved to 4-8-0 as the guest ... Crombeen's goal was his first of the season ... New Jersey had won two straight in the series, including a 4-2 home win on Feb. 7 ... Tampa Bay finished 0-for-2 on the power play, while New Jersey was 1-for-2.