From: wilson@cs.ucf.edu (tom wilson)
Subject: LIGHTNING NEWS: St. Louis vs. TB 11/3, Semenov trade
Organization: University of Central Florida, Orlando
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 21:43:08 GMT

STL - 1 1 2 - 4
TB  - 2 3 1 - 6

1 - TB  Creighton 2 (Zamuner, Beers)    10:33 (pp)
    TB  Cole 3      (Andersson, DiMaio) 14:38
    STL Miller 1    (Miehm)             14:54

2 - STL Korolev 2   (Emerson, Brown)     8:35
    TB  DiMaio 3    (Cole, Reekie)       8:50
    TB  Bergevin 2  (Kontos, Bradley)   10:02
    TB  Kontos 12   (Zamuner, Beers)    18:44 (pp)

3 - STL Miehm 1     (Mackey)            11:01
    STL Brown 4     (Korolev)           12:02
    TB  Kontos 13   (Bureau, Creighton) 17:18

Shots on goal: STL 11- 7-12--30
               TB  15-17-10--42
Power plays:   STL 0 of 1
               TB  2 of 3
Goalies:       STL Joseph 3-6-1, 32 shots, 27 saves
                   Hebert, 0:00 3rd, 10 shots, 9 saves
               TB  Jablonski 2-2-1, 30 shots, 26 saves
Attendance:    8,452

-----

* Lightning snap slide by quieting Blues, 6-4

Enough of this close-but-no-cigar madness.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, coming off four consecutive one-goal losses and
quickly distinguishing themselves as the NHL's Cardiac Kids, took some
frustration out Tuesday, leaving St. Louis feeling quite blue after a 6-4
victory [for Tampa] in front of 8,452 at Expo Hall.

The Lightning (5-8-1) shattered a 2-2 deadlock with goals by Rob DiMaio, Marc
Bergevin, and Chris Kontos in the final 11:10 of the second period, keeping
relentless pressure on Blues goalteender Curtis Joseph, who was removed after
facing 32 shots in two periods.

St. Louis (5-7-1) put together a spirited third-period rally, closing the gap
to a goal, but failed in an effort to win its fourth consecutive game.

The Blues' superstar sniper Brett Hull -- who has led the league in goals each
of the past three seasons -- was hardly a factor, as the Lightning limited him
to four shots, all but one coming in the third period.

"We can't win playing just one period," Hull said. "Again, I have to put the
blame on myself. I haven't played a good game yet this year."

Instead, it was a Blues castoff goaltender and another player wearing No. 16
-- Kontos -- who played pivotal roles in the victory.

Pat Jablonski, picked up by Tampa Bay when St. Louis chose not to protect him
in June's NHL expansion draft, had 26 saves in beating his former teammates
for the second time this season.

And Kontos, who has been playing the role of Brett Hull for the Lightning,
scored twice and assisted on another goal, sealing the triumph when he scored
his 13th goal on a 4-on-1 break with 2:42 left.

Jablonski made the lead stand, twice snuffing scoring bids by Hull in the final
minutes.

"Maybe subconsciously I do get a little more pumped up against these," said
Jablonski, who must step to the forefront with Wendell Young recovering from
a dislocated shoulder. "Those are all my buddies, and it's fun to beat them.

"It's fun just to win, period."

Kontos, who had given Tampa Bay a 5-2 lead with 1:16 remaining in the second
period, redirecting a pass in front from rookie Rob Zamuner into the top left
corner of the net, helped the Lightning regain a two-goal edge late in the
game.

He took a pass from Marc Bureau on a 4-on-1 break and sneaked a shot past
goaltender Guy Herbert.

"Ninety percent of it is mental," Kontos said. "You've got to believe in
yourself, and I'm trying to do that every night.

"We had lost four one-goal games, but there is no question the team was
working hard. We knew at some point the puck had to bounce our way. That's
what happened."

The Lightning played sloppily at times on defense, giving up two goals on
turnovers in the defensive end allowing a third on a 3-on-1 break. But Tampa
Bay received plenty of offense -- taking a season-high 40 shots -- and some
timely saves by Jablonski.

-----

* Semenov goes to Vancouver

The Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday traded center/wing Anatoli Semenov to
the Vancouver Canucks for minor-league center/wing Dave Capuano and a fourth-
round draft pick in 1994.

Semenov, 30, had two goals and three assists in 13 games games for Tampa Bay
this season, and at 6'2" and 190#, fills the Canucks' need for a big center.
He is expected to skate on a line with Pavel Bure, last season's rookie of the
year.

"This is weird to say, but maybe he was too good for our team," said Lightning
President/GM Phil Esposito. "On our team the guy is a really high-level skill
play that was a little too fancy."

Semenov reportedly requested to be traded. Semenov, "I sit every game on the
bench. I never played on the power play. How do they expect me to score?"

Capuano, 24, had one point in four games with Hamilton of the AHL. He had 44
points in 61 games for the Canucks in 90-91. He will report to Atlanta, Tampa
Bay's minor-league affiliate.

Semenov was one of the first forwards selected by Tampa Bay in June's NHL
expansion draft.

[I couldn't believe it when I heard the trade yesterday. But since Semenov
requested to be traded, I can live with it. He'll have more success in
Vancouver. I'm hoping Espo doesn't go back to his trading ways in NY. There
isn't the pressure to succeed here yet.]

Tom
Newsgroups: rec.sport.hockey