By Ira Podell
The Associated Press

CALGARY - Vincent Lecavalier made a play behind the Calgary net in Game 2 that had everyone buzzing. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward did it again in Game 3, and this time cost his team a goal.

It was one of several botched plays that hurt the Eastern Conference champions in their 3-0 loss to the Flames in the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night.

With the Lightning already down by one in the second period, Lecavalier stood behind the goal and tried to make a pass out to the blue line to set up a scoring chance. Instead, the puck slid through to neutral ice where Flames forward Shean Donovan got it and took off on a two-on-one.

Donovan fired a high shot past Nikolai Khabibulin to make it 2-0 with 2:51 left in the second period.

"It went through someone's legs, a defenseman," Lecavalier said of the pass. "It's a bad break, but we didn't score a goal. So even if he didn't score on that opportunity, it was still 1-0."

Two nights earlier, Lecavalier started a scoring play from behind Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff by keeping control of the puck with a pass off the back of the net to himself.

The puck eventually got to Ruslan Fedotenko, who scored to give Tampa Bay the lead in a 4-1 victory that tied the best-of-seven series 1-1.

Lecavalier's touch was nearly as good in Game 3 but his nifty work kept the puck alive for the Flames instead of the Lightning.

"Plays like that sometimes can win the game. Tonight it went the other way," forward Fredrik Modin said.

Lecavalier had an eventful game well before his key gaffe. During a rough, first-period shift while matched against Calgary captain Jarome Iginla, Lecavalier dropped his gloves to take on the more-savvy fighter. He more than held his own.

"That's part of the game," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "Two of the best players going at it, nothing wrong with that."

Before the bout, the high-scoring pair that combined for more points in the regular season (139) than penalty minutes (136) jousted along the boards and then behind the Calgary net.

Iginla seemed to look for Lecavalier, who came out hard in Game 2 to set the tone for a contest that got ugly in a penalty-filled third period.

As Lecavalier tracked the puck behind Kiprusoff on Saturday, Iginla charged to meet him before Lecavalier could gain control of the puck. The hit was hard and was followed by shoves and near punches from both players.

It was just seconds later that the 6-foot-4 Lecavalier was involved in just his third fight of the season and first since January.

"There's a lot of emotion," he said. "We were battling for the puck, we were talking to each other, gave a couple of shots, and that's it."

Lecavalier's misguided pass wasn't the only mistake that the Lightning made, it was just the most glaring.

The Lightning power play failed on all four chances, including one that came 21 seconds in when Calgary's Martin Gelinas took an undisciplined elbowing penalty against Pavel Kubina.

Tampa Bay is 1-for-9 with the man advantage during its two losses in this series. The Lightning had scored at least one power-play goal in eight straight games before Saturday, connecting 11 times in 37 opportunities.

In the past nine games, the Lightning have been on a pattern of win one, lose one. The run started in Game 2 of the conference finals when Philadelphia snapped Tampa Bay's eight-game winning streak.

"We had trouble against Philly and now it seems we have to get back like we did the first couple of series," Lecavalier said. "I know it's the finals and it's tougher but we definitely have to be more consistent."