TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Vaclav Prospal had two goals and one assist Saturday night to help the Tampa Bay Lightning trounce the Atlanta Thrashers, 6-2.
Tampa Bay sprinted away from a slim 2-1 lead by scoring three times in the second period.
Martin St. Louis had a goal and two assists, Vincent Lecavalier had a goal and one assist, Chris Gratton and Mathieu Darche scored once each, while goalie Johan Holmqvist stopped 18-of-20 Atlanta shots -- as the Lightning stopped a two-game skid.
Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Brett Sterling both scored once. Goaltenders Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec combined to yield six goals on 30 shots, as the defending Southeast Division champion Thrashers lost for the seventh time in eight games to open the new season.
On the power play, Tampa Bay went 2-for-5, and Atlanta was 0-for-2.
