Wesley, Hurricanes rally past Lightning

Glen Wesley capped a third-period comeback with his first goal in more than nine months to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 Friday night.

Down 3-1 entering the final 20 minutes and headed toward another lopsided loss to their Southeast Division rival, the Hurricanes scored three goals in less than 7 minutes to beat Tampa Bay for the first time this season.

Carolina's Erik Cole returned after missing four games with a neck injury and assisted on Eric Staal's first-period goal, the 100th of his NHL career.

Vincent Lecavalier, the league's top scorer, padded his lead with a goal and an assist, and Vaclav Prospal and Paul Ranger also had goals for the Lightning.

Tampa Bay won both previous games in the season series by the combined score of 11-2, and with Lecavalier leading the charge through two periods, another victory appeared secured. Tampa Bay held a 20-10 advantages in shots at that point.

But Carolina bounced back, and its oldest player had the deciding goal. The 39-year-old Wesley, who took the ice for his 1,402nd career game, sent a quick wrist shot through a screen by Staal to beat Johan Holmqvist.

It was Wesley's first goal in 36 games, when he scored shorthanded in overtime to beat Philadelphia on Feb. 22.

Ray Whitney and Justin Williams had a hand in the comeback as well, beating Holmqvist with nearly identical shots to tie the game at 3. First, Whitney took a pass from Matt Cullen and lifted a shot through defenseman Brad Lukowich that sailed over Holmqvist's right shoulder.

Then Williams skated in on a 3-on-2 and shot from between the circles, again going high to beat Holmqvist on his pad side for the tying goal.

That ruined a brilliant second period by Tampa Bay, which began with Prospal and Lecavalier joining Martin St. Louis on a nifty three-man weave to take its first lead at 2-1. St. Louis dropped a pass through his legs to Lecavalier, then took a return pass near the left circle.

Just as goalie Cam Ward committed, St. Louis sent the puck across the crease to Prospal for the relatively easy goal.

Lecavalier extended the lead when he bumped defenseman Bret Hedican off the puck near the blue line and skated in alone on Ward. It was his 15th goal of the season.

The Hurricanes scored the first goal when Cole passed to Staal right beside the net, and after several swipes of his stick, the puck scooted through Holmqvist for a 1-0 lead.

Notes:@ Carolina visits Washington on Saturday before returning home for two more games. Early in the second period, the scoreboard flashed the final score from Arkansas' upset of No. 1 LSU, drawing loud cheers as college football's national championship chase became more complicated. Tampa Bay returned home for a game Saturday against New Jersey, then go back on the road for two more games.