Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Valtteri Filppula scored twice and added an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning thumped the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 on Thursday.
Martin St. Louis had a goal and two assists, while Victor Hedman had a goal and a helper and Alex Killorn scored for the Lightning, who have won six of their last seven games. Ben Bishop posted 24 saves in the win.
"I think we put on a great performance tonight and played hard from the get- go," said Hedman. "We were able to put a lot of pressure in their zone and when you do that the goals will come."
Emerson Etem scored for the Ducks, who have lost two straight. Jonas Hiller gave up all five goals on 20 shots.
"When you're fragile and you get behind, things start to go wrong," said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau. "We weren't able to push back."
The Lightning struck at 11:52 of the first period when Teddy Purcell fired a pass from the left circle to the right where Filppula one-timed it home.
Tampa doubled its lead 4 1/2 minutes later on the power play when St. Louis tipped the puck in from down low for his eighth of the season.
Skating on the power play, the Lightning made it a 3-0 game at 3:16 of the second period as Filppula took a pass at the right circle and skated down low before firing a shot into the net.
Tampa kept pouring it on, making it a 4-0 game at 10:51 of the second when Killorn put home his own rebound, but Etem scored his fifth of the year at 16:07 to get Anaheim on the board.
Hedman's goal at 2:05 of the third capped the scoring. Bishop stopped all eight shots he faced in the third to keep Anaheim at bay.
Game Notes
Tampa Bay hits the road for the next four games starting in Phoenix on Saturday ... Anaheim plays in Carolina on Friday ... Tampa has won the past two games against Anaheim after losing three straight ... Tampa was 2-for-2 on the power play and Anaheim was 0-for-3.
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