TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- James Wright scored just 30 seconds into the game Thursday and Tampa Bay went on to defeat San Jose 5-2, its first victory over the Sharks in seven seasons.
Steven Stamkos had two goals for the Lightning and Mike Smith, who had been giving up an average of four goals a contest, made 32 saves. It was Smith's first win of the year.
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Tampa Bay had dropped five of its first seven games of the season. The Lightning's seven-season losing streak against the Sharks had covered five games.
James Wright, Ryan Malone and Andrej Meszaros also scored for Tampa Bay, which owned a 2-0 lead after one period and had a 3-1 advantage after two.
Evgeni Nabokov took the loss, stopping 20 of 24 shots.