On the verge of giving away a big lead in what would have been a fifth consecutive loss, Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Tortorella called a timeout and gathered his players for a pep talk.

The gist of his message? "We're playing well," center Tim Taylor recounted. "Control yourselves." With that positive reinforcement, Tortorella pounded his palms together and sent his club back onto the ice to finish off a victory.

Vincent Lecavalier scored his 200th career goal and assisted on Martin St. Louis' 21st and 22nd of the season last night, and visiting Tampa Bay held on to beat the Washington Capitals, 5-4.

"This was an opportunity for us to be able to handle a situation. It's something that we've struggled with," said Tortorella, whose team improved to 5-8 in one-goal games. "In these type of situations, when you do get the win like we did, maybe it springboards you to something else."

The Lightning outshot Washington, 29-9, through two periods while taking a 5-2 lead that drew loud boos from the announced crowd of 10,417. The Lightning had dropped four in a row, wasting a lead in each of the past three.

Other highlights

Justin Williams and Anton Babchuk scored, and the visiting Carolina Hurricanes beat Philadelphia, 2-1, to hand the Flyers their franchise-record seventh consecutive loss. ... Marian Hossa scored two short-handed goals, then connected in the shootout to help the visiting Atlanta Thrashers end a season-high five-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory against the New Jersey Devils. ... Chris Higgins scored twice and Cristobal Huet made 42 saves, leading the surging Montreal Canadiens to a 5-2 victory against the host Buffalo Sabres. Montreal won its fourth game in a row and moved within five points of first-place Buffalo in the Northeast Division. ... Jason Blake scored three goals and the visiting New York Islanders took advantage of the depleted New York Rangers before holding on for a 4-3 victory. ... Marco Sturm scored three times and Marc Savard had two goals and two assists, leading the visiting Boston Bruins to a 7-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators.

Notes

Carolina Hurricanes center Kevyn Adams was scheduled to have a medical procedure done on his right wrist and will miss up to two weeks. He had played 162 consecutive games for the defending Stanley Cup champions.