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Lightning Lead Calgary 2-0 in Game 7

Posted on: Monday, 7 June 2004, 06:00 CDT

TAMPA, Fla. - Ruslan Fedotenko scored in the first two periods to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-0 lead over the Calgary Flames through 40 minutes of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night.

Fedotenko scored on a power play in the first period and then rifled a shot from above the left circle, off a pass from Vincent Lecavalier, to make it 2-0 with 5:22 left in the second.

It was Lecavalier's first point in five games.

Fedotenko got the Lightning started when he beat goalie Miikka Kiprusoff from the slot off a rebound of Brad Richards' shot with 6:29 remaining in the period.

The fourth-year forward has 12 goals in the playoffs and five on the power play. Fedotenko, who had one postseason goal before this year, also started Game 7 of the East finals with a power-play score.

Tampa Bay's man-advantage unit went dormant at the start of this series after clicking seven times in the final 14 chances against Philadelphia. The Lightning cashed in only twice in their first 18 chances in the finals, but converted five times in the next 13 opportunities.

Calgary gave them two cracks in the first period as Marcus Nilson took a slashing penalty at 1:10, and Oleg Saprykin followed with a tripping call that led to Fedotenko's first of the game.

The first score has proved crucial throughout the series as the team that grabbed a 1-0 lead won each of the first six games. History was already on the side of the host Lightning because 10 times in 12 previous seventh games in the finals the home team has won the Stanley Cup.

Calgary allowed only 10 shots through two periods but the Flames' offense mustered only seven.

The Flames and Lightning alternated victories through the first six games of the series. The previous two were won in overtime by the road team.

Calgary, which squandered a chance to win the Cup at home on Saturday, had a chance to break the playoff mark for wins on the road with 11 in its record 26th postseason game. New Jersey won 10 in 1995 and 2000.

The Lightning were trying to become the sixth team to win the Stanley Cup in its first trip to the finals. That hasn't happened since 1996 when Colorado beat Florida. Tampa Bay closed in on a 3-2 series comeback that has only been accomplished six times and just once since 1971.

Martin St. Louis scored 33 seconds into double overtime Saturday in Calgary to force a Game 7.

Calgary was hoping to become just the second team to win the Cup without having home-ice advantage in any of its four playoff series. New Jersey did it when it was the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference in 1995.

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