Stamkos, Lighting fend off elimination in OT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Steven Stamkos scored his NHL-leading 56th goal of the season 45 seconds into overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night. Stamkos picked up his NHL-record fifth OT goal in one season, scoring from the left circle. Ryan Malone scored twice, giving him five goals in the past two games, for the Lightning. Goalie Sebastien Caron made his second appearance since signing with Tampa Bay on March 19 and his first NHL start since Nov. 10, 2006. Antti Miettinen and Kyle Wellwood scored for Winnipeg. Malone flipped the puck over Grant Clitson in the neutral zone, raced the past the defenseman and beat goalie Ondrej Pavelec to put the Lightning up 1-0 with 4:23 left in the first. Malone's rebound goal on the power play tied it at 2 at 7:25 of the third. Miettinen and Wellwood had goals 3:08 apart in the second. After Miettinen scored from the slot off a pass from Evander Kane 6:20 into the period, Wellwood gave Winnipeg a 2-1 lead with a rebound goal at 9:28. Caron made a strong glove save on an in-close shot by Ron Hainsey during the first. Caron joined the Lightning after playing in Germany. Pavelec stopped a shot by Stamkos during a breakaway late in the third. A brief scrum took place after Hainsey cross-checked Tampa Bay right wing Martin St. Louis into the boards at 12:21 of the second. Hainsey received the only penalty. Malone and Hainsey had a lengthy fight early in the third. Tempers flared again at 8:29 when seven penalties were issued after the players gathered behind the Lightning net. NOTES: Tampa Bay RW J.T. Brown, signed out of Minnesota-Duluth on Wednesday, made his NHL debut. ... Lightning C Nate Thompson returned after missing seven games due to an upper-body injury. ... Chicago senior adviser Scotty Bowman was at the game, and spent the second intermission watching a TV discussion speculating about him and the vacate Montreal GM job. Bowman said he is very happy with his current role with the Blackhawks. Chicago's GM is Bowman's son, Stan.