SUNRISE, Fla. Kevin Kolb Jersey . -- Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning have remained on a roll even without star Steven Stamkos. St. Louis had a goal and two assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning extended their winning streak to five games with a 6-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday. St. Louis had an assist on Tyler Johnsons tap-in goal off a wide shot off the boards by Victor Hedman and added another on Valtteri Filppulas power-play goal less than five minutes later for a 3-1 Lightning lead. St. Louis scored his 16th goal of the season when his batted shot eluded Florida goaltender Scott Clemmensen for a 4-1 advantage after two periods. "When (Steven Stamkos) went down, we had that sense of shock, but won some games. Then reality set in. It set in when we went out West," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "Marty went into a little bit of a funk at that time when Stammer was gone. I dont think weve had a better player on our team in the last eight games than (Marty). Hes the captain and hes led the way for us. "Marty has clearly put the team on his back of late." Alex Killorn tied the game for Tampa Bay 19 seconds after Sean Bergenheim gave Florida a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal past Lightning goalie Ben Bishop. "Marty was huge. He opened up the floodgates and made some great plays and scored a pretty nice goal, too," Killorn said. "Hes obviously a leader on our team and we look to him for strong play. He came up huge in the second and everyone kind of followed his lead." The Lightning are 10-2-2 in games when St. Louis has appeared on the scoresheet since Stamkos broke his leg on Nov. 11. "I feel good out there adjusting to new linemates," said St. Louis, who is on a five-game point streak. "Its been fun. The young guys have a lot of energy. When youre winning and contributing, thats a fun feeling. "I definitely took it as a challenge and want to deliver." In his first full season behind the Lightning bench, Cooper has watched his club jump out to a quick start and hold a strong 23-11-3 record despite having Stamkos sidelined. Cooper said the key to beating the Panthers by five goals -- they also beat them 7-2 in the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Oct. 10 -- was the quick answer after the Panthers took the early lead. "It wasnt so much the second (period), it was the answer after they scored. We had a couple of really good penalty kills and made an unfortunate error that ended up in the back of our net. A big turning point for us was scoring on the next shift," Cooper said. "We went into the room 1-1 and we came out flying. It helped to get the 5-on-3. We smelled it. The boys got after it. "Were riding some momentum going into Christmas." Florida coach Peter Horachek was disappointed in his teams effort, especially returning home after going 3-1 on a tough road swing through Canada with wins over Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. "The guys didnt really have a lot of push-back. It was probably the worst game since Ive been here for sure," the interim coach said. NOTES: Florida F Scottie Upshall (upper body) was hurt in the first period and didnt return. ... Tampa Bay D Sami Salo (upper body) left in the second period and didnt return. ... Florida G Tim Thomas remained on the injured reserve (retroactive to Dec. 12) and missed his sixth straight game after being hurt nearly two weeks ago in practice. ... With the win in the teams third meeting, Tampa Bay won the first annual Governors Cup, created during the off-season by Florida Governor Rick Scott. ... Tampa Bay and Florida are both idle through the holiday break before hosting games Saturday -- the Lightning against Montreal, the Panthers playing Detroit. Bruce Smith Jersey . Wright sat out games on Tuesday and Wednesday after learning he broke his finger diving back to a base Monday night. He was examined by a hand specialist for the second straight day Thursday. Frank Summers Jersey . Kyrie Irving scored 22 points and the Cavaliers won their sixth straight game, 101-93 over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. NEW ORLEANS -- Jrue Holiday saw a late 12-point deficit as an opportunity to deliver a character-building message. Fans had started filing out of the New Orleans Arena, the Pelicans were gathered at their bench for a timeout with 4:44 left, and Holiday told his young teammates: "Its time to grow." New Orleans then outscored Cleveland 23-7 the rest of the way en route to 104-100 victory Friday night. "Theres going to be plenty of times, plenty of games where were going to be down like that, but it was time for us to grow, grow together," said Holiday, who had 15 points and 11 assists. "Everybody kind of responded to that and picked up their defence. Everybody took their defensive assignments to heart." Anthony Davis had 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for New Orleans. Eric Gordon scored 19, including a 3-pointer from the corner with 31 seconds left to give New Orleans the lead for good. Clevelands Kyrie Irving, who had 22 points, drove for a potential tying layup with 23 seconds left, but lost the ball as he collided with Davis. As the Pelicans Tyreke Evans corralled the loose ball, Irving took off his protective face mask in disgust, certain he was fouled. After the game, however, Irving refused to blame the loss on that play. "We had a chance in the fourth quarter. We gave ourselves a chance," he said. "Theres a couple things weve got to get better at." Evans and Holiday combined to make four free throws in the final 20 seconds to secure New Orleans third straight win. Cleveland coach Mike Brown hoped his young team would learn from its collapse. "Its a tough loss, especially when you feel like you had control most of the game," Brown said. "But its a growing, learning experience for a young group." The Cavs led 93-81 with 4:44 to go after Earl Clarks third 3-pointer of the second half capped what appeared to be a decisive 9-2 run. New Orleans coach Monty Williams responded with a lineup featuring his five top scorers: Gordon, Holiday, Davis, Evans and Ryan Anderson. "Thats a tough lineup because everyone is capable of scoring," Davis said. What resulted was a 14-2 run that included 3s by Holiday and AAnderson, as well as six points by Davis on a dunk, free throws and a tip-in of Evans miss on a fast break to tie it at 95 with 1:29 to go. DaNorris Searcy Buffalo Bills. "All our guys, instead of separating, came together," said Williams, who unleashed an emphatic fist pump as the horn sounded. "We know we can come back. We know we can play in close games. ... It was emotional." Evans finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, including a clutch layup on a baseline drive with 1:01 left. Anderson had 13 points and Jason Smith 11. Jarrett Jack scored 19 points and Dion Waiters added 14 for Cleveland, which led most of the way. Tristan Thompson added 12 points and Clark 11. New Orleans managed to pull out the win despite being badly outshot, 53.2 per cent (41 of 77) to 40.9 per cent (36 of 88). The Pelicans made up for it with a 48-37 rebounding advantage, including 19 offensive rebounds that led to 25 second-chance points. The Pelicans also converted 20 Cavs turnovers into 21 points. "Where the game was lost was 20 turnovers," Brown said. "On the road, you have 20 turnovers for 21 points, thats tough." Waiters scored all his points in the opening half. Jack, who once played for New Orleans, made a running, off-balance 21-footer at the horn to give Cleveland a 51-42 halftime lead. The Cavs led by as many as 11 in the third quarter on Thompsons hook shot. Later in the period, New Orleans briefly surged back in front with a 12-0 run that began with Evans 3 and ended with Andersons 3. But a 3-pointer by Clark and Jacks driving floater in the paint helped Cleveland take a 71-70 lead heading into the final quarter. NOTES: Undrafted rookie Matthew Dellavadova got his first career start in place of C.J. Miles, who did not make the trip because of a right calf strain. Dellavadova did not score. He had one assist and two rebounds in about 12 minutes of playing time. ... Cavaliers rookie Anthony Bennett, the top overall pick in last summers draft, was healthy and active but did not get into the game. ... New Orleans has won four straight at home. ... The Pelicans outscored Cleveland 23-2 in fast-break points. ... Davis has had a double-double in seven of the Pelicans first 12 games. ' ' '
