Lightning 5, Senators 2

TAMPA, Fla. - Steven Stamkos had two power-play goals and an assist to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Thursday night.

Todd Fedoruk, Ryan Malone and Alex Tanguay also scored for the Lightning, who are 4-0-2 at home.

Stamkos put Tampa Bay ahead 1-0 at 7:20 of the first when his redirection of Vincent Lecavalier's shot appeared to go into the net off Ottawa defenceman Filip Kuba. The second-year centre gave the Lightning a 4-0 lead at 7:09 of the third from the low right circle after a nifty stickhandling move.

Ottawa got third-period goals from Jarkko Ruutu and Alex Kovalev. The Senators were coming off a 4-3 win Wednesday night at Florida.

Tanguay stopped a personal 12-game goal drought, dating to April 4, just over two minutes after Stamkos' second goal.

Fedoruk made it 2-0 on an in-close rebound goal at 4:34 of the second. Malone's wraparound goal extended Tampa Bay's advantage to 3-0 with 5:12 left in the second.

After stopping a shot by Milan Michalek earlier in the third during a breakaway, Lightning goalie Mike Smith lost his shutout bid when Ruutu scored with 9:34 remaining. Kovalev cut the Ottawa deficit to 5-2 later in the period.

Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis played in his 700th NHL games and extended his franchise-record season-opening points streak to 10 games (11 assists, 14 points) with an assist. The NHL record is 51 games, set by Wayne Gretzky during the 1983-84 season.

St. Louis missed the net to the right on short-handed penalty shot midway through the second.

NOTES: Senators D Anton Volchenkov is expected to miss at least a couple weeks after hurting his right elbow in Wednesday's game. He was replaced on the roster by D Brian Lee, who was recalled from Binghamton of the AHL ... Ottawa C Jason Spezza didn't play due to an upper-body injury. ... New Jersey special assignment coach Pat Burns, who is battling cancer, scouted the game in preparation for the Devils game at Tampa Bay on Saturday. A regular at Lightning home games, this was his first game this season ... The Senators return home to face the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday afternoon at Scotiabank Place (2 p.m., CBC, Team 1200). Ottawa plays nine of its next 10 games at home, including four straight starting Saturday.