Ed Belfour returned to the Dallas Stars' lineup last week. His game caught up in Tampa Bay.
Belfour was searching for a victory to complete a whirlwind week. Tampa Bay was the perfect location and the Lightning the perfect foil for Belfour to punctuate a bizarre string of events that included a suspension, reinstatement, a game as backup and a loss.
The Dallas goalie made 22 saves and earned his first victory since serving a two-day suspension as the Stars beat the Lightning 3-2 on Sunday night.
Belfour improved to 10-4-3 against the Lightning, but, most importantly, found his form after being suspended for walking out on the team after an argument with coach Ken Hitchcock on Jan. 6 in Boston.
"Belfour coming back and really fitting in again, it's good," Hitchcock said. "The team is beyond the situation, and Eddie feels part of the group again. It's a good sign."
Belfour, who had won only twice in his last seven appearances, helped the Stars win for the fourth time in five games. Dallas improved to 8-1-2 at Tampa Bay and 15-3-3 overall against the Lightning.
"Once you start finding your groove again, it makes it easier when you play game after game," said Belfour, who backed up rookie Marty Turco last Wednesday and lost to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night in his first game back. "All goalies will tell you that."
Belfour blanked the Lightning from the six-minute mark of the second period and through the third period.
"He was good all game," Hitchcock said of Belfour. "He shut the door. I didn't think (the Lightning) were going to score in the third period the way he was in the zone."
CANUCKS 5, FLAMES 1: In Vancouver, British Columbia, Markus Naslund had his first hat trick in more than two years as Vancouver won for the sixth time in eight games.
Naslund, who recorded his last hat trick Dec. 4, 1998, scored twice on the power play and leads the league with 27 goals.
Bob Essensa started consecutive games for the second time this season and stopped 23 shots for Vancouver. Peter Schaefer and Donald Brashear added goals for the Canucks.
Valeri Bure scored a power-play goal for Calgary, which lost for the third time in four games.
OILERS 4, SENATORS 1: Ryan Smyth scored three goals, including two in a 52-second span in the second period, as Edmonton snapped Ottawa's five-game winning streak.
Dominic Roussel, making his first appearance for Edmonton since being claimed off waivers from Anaheim on Wednesday, made 18 saves.
Georges Laraque also scored for Edmonton, Doug Weight assisted on all three of Smyth's goals and Anson Carter added two assists.
Shawn McEachern scored for visiting Ottawa, which has not beaten Edmonton since Jan. 18, 1994.
AVALANCHE 2, BLACKHAWKS 2: Eric Daze scored on a 45-foot shot with 1:19 remaining as host Chicago extended its unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1) and improved to 8-2-2 in its last 12.
Alex Zhamnov had a short-handed goal for the Blackhawks.
Milan Hejduk and Chris Drury scored in the first period for Colorado, which is unbeaten in three games (2-0-1) and has not lost in regulation in nine games (5-0-3-1).
RANGERS 4, WILD 2: Adam Graves scored his 300th career goal and Mike Richter made 30 saves as host New York snapped a nine-game winless streak.
Brian Leetch had two first-period goals and Jan Hlavac also scored for the Rangers, who hadn't won since a 6-3 home victory over Florida (0-7-1-1) on Dec. 18.
Sergei Krivokrasov and Aaron Gavey scored for the expansion Wild, who lost for the third time in 12 games (6-3-3).
HURRICANES 4, MIGHTY DUCKS 0: Ron Francis scored twice to move into fifth place on the NHL's career scoring list and Arturs Irbe recorded his fourth shutout as Carolina stretched its home unbeaten streak to a franchise-record eight games (7-0-1).
Francis' first goal moved him past Phil Esposito with 1,591 points.
The Mighty Ducks were shut out for the second straight game and fell to 1-7-2-1 in their last 11 without star Paul Kariya, who is sidelined with a broken right foot.