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Sunday, Mar. 12 6:00pm ET
Amonte hat trick zaps Lightning | |||||
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BOX SCORE
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Life without Doug Gilmour hasn't been too bad for the Chicago Blackhawks. Tony Amonte scored three goals and Alexei Zhamnov had a goal and two assists as the Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 Sunday night. Chicago, which traded Gilmour to Buffalo on Friday, swept a two-game, two-day Florida road trip. The Hawks beat Florida 5-2 Saturday night. "We knew we needed to pick it up with the loss of Dougie and his leadership," Amonte said. "The last two games have been great games for the whole team." Amonte scored two of Chicago's three unanswered goals in the first period. Zhamnov, who scored the other goal in the frame, assisted on both Amonte goals. Amonte completed the hat trick by scoring into a empty net with less than a second remaining. "Between him (Amonte) and Zhamnov, they controlled the puck," Chicago associate coach Lorne Molleken said. "It was nice to see him get rewarded and get that hat trick." Todd Warriner scored a third-period goal for Tampa Bay, which has dropped seven straight games. It's the third time this season the Lightning have lost that many in a row. "We did have a little jump and then we got that first goal on us, and then bang the second and the third was 'holy smokes,"' Tampa Bay coach Steve Ludzik said. "Before you know it, you've taken about three left hooks to the head." Zhamnov scored a rebound goal at 4:56 of the first. Two minutes later Amonte scored from the slot, and then added his 36th goal on the power play 1:33 before the period ended. "Guys are playing hard to try and prove to our club they want to be here," Amonte said. "I definitely belong to that group." Even with the goal, the Blackhawks are 2-for-25 with the man advantage. Tampa Bay defenseman Petr Svoboda played in his 1,000th career game. During a pregame ceremony, it was announced that the All-Star, who could have become a free agent following the season, signed a new multiyear deal with the team. "It's nice to be here on a the long-term basis and be here for the rebuilding," Svoboda said. "I never like leaving a club I've been around for a while." Chicago played without left wing Eric Daze (back spasms) and defenseman Bryan McCabe (cheek). Molleken said McCabe could return Wednesday when the Blackhawks play at Toronto. Left wing Michal Grosek, acquired from Buffalo in the Gilmour trade, made his Chicago debut. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Chicago Clubhouse Tampa Bay Clubhouse RECAPS Carolina 5 Atlanta 1
Chicago 4
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