Tampa Bay Lightning weekly report

On Saturday, the Lightning didn't strike until the second period against the Atlanta Thrashers, but their rally fell short and the Lightning ended up losing 6-3.

The opening Atlanta goal came on an accidental tip-in by Paul Ranger after a save by goalie Mike Smith. Another goal three minutes later gave the Thrashers a 2-0 edge. The Lightning failed to capitalize on several scoring opportunities in the first period.

The Bolts successfully killed a penalty at the start of the second period, but the Thrashers netted a third goal for a 3-0 lead. A fourth goal followed, but the Lightning launched an offensive and Victor Hedman scored to put the Bolts on the board. With minutes left, the Lightning scored a goal on the teams first power play of the night.

In the third frame, the Bolts jumped on the board and scored again as Andrei Meszaros found the goal. But the Thrashers added an additional pair of goals despite aggressive efforts by the Lightning's offense to close the gap.

The Lightning on Tuesday tried to overcome Saturday night's loss, but fell 2-1 to the Carolina Panthers on a shootout goal. The Panthers scored first in the first period, but Tampa Bay missed some quality chances.

In the second period, penalties ruled and the Lightning finally scored on an extended 5-on-3. Ryan Malone managed to swing at Steven Stamkos's crossbar rebound and find the net for a 1-1 tie. Without a score in the third period, the game went into overtime, and in the shootout, the Panthers knocked in the winning goal.