Lightning, Flames skate to Tampa Bay

The two teams are deadlocked at 2-2 entering Thursday's Game 5.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Lightning showed they can protect a one-goal lead in the Stanley Cup finals. Whether they can take care of home-ice advantage is a whole other story.
After splitting two games in Florida and two in Calgary, the Lightning and Flames are heading back to Tampa for Game 5 Thursday at 8 p.m.
The suddenly wounded Lightning flew home from Calgary on Tuesday after winning 1-0 Monday night, while Flames spent the first day of a two-day break in their playoff-crazed city.
Tampa Bay has not been able to win two games in a row since taking eight straight in a stretch that spanned the first three playoff series.
Win-lose Pattern
The Lightning are in a win-one, lose-one pattern that, if it continues, will leave them one victory short of the Stanley Cup.
"I just think as you go through the long road in the playoffs, it's a matter of trying to keep momentum," Lightning coach John Tortorella said Tuesday. "I think at times, we have it, and there's another team out there trying to gain that momentum back."
That's what has happened to Tampa Bay ever since the start of the conference finals against Philadelphia. The Lightning, 8-3 at home, took the opener and have not lost or won twice in a row in 11 games.
The Flames have become an excellent team away from home. They've posted a 9-3 road mark in the playoffs, including a 4-1 victory in Game 1. But instead of building a commanding series lead at home in Game 4, they gave up an early power-play goal -- the only score in Monday's loss.
Needs road victory
Calgary will need at least one more road victory to capture the Stanley Cup for the second time in team history. If the Flames can win Thursday, they will return home with a chance to end the series. Yet, they are only 5-6 in the Saddledome.
So far, the Flames have been perfect in Game 5s by beating Vancouver, Detroit and San Jose on the road.
"That's in the past, we got to do it in the future," Flames forward Craig Conroy said. "Game 5 has got to be just like we talked about in every series. Game 5 has got to be our best game of the series and then we go from there."
Both teams are facing question marks in their lineups.
The Lightning only lost 34 man-games to injury in the regular season, but in the playoffs the number is 17 and maybe growing. Tampa Bay was without forward Ruslan Fedotenko and defenseman Pavel Kubina on Monday after both were injured on questionable hits in Game 3.
Vincent Lecavalier could join the growing list of wounded players. He was rattled by a hit from Calgary forward Ville Nieminen, who drove him into the boards and knocked him out of Game 4 with 4:13 left.
Didn't hear fate
Nieminen didn't hear his fate Tuesday, and it was unknown whether the repeat disciplinary offender would be suspended for the hit the Lightning felt was dirty. The Flames played the final minutes short-handed, which killed any chance they had of scoring the tying goal against Nikolai Khabibulin.
Flames captain Jarome Iginla believes Nieminen has been punished enough. Iginla, who fought Lecavalier in Game 3, implied that the Lightning forward might have embellished his reaction to Nieminen's hit.
"He stayed down to try and draw a big penalty," Iginla said. "Right after, he jumped up pretty quickly and he didn't look too bothered by it.
"That's what probably any of us would do in that situation trying to draw a bigger penalty. When they look at it, I don't think it should be a suspension."
The extra day off, the longest break of the series, should benefit the Lightning if they can get their injured players back.
"I'm not going to get into all of the updates," said Tortorella, who was waiting to consult with the team trainer.
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