RALEIGH, N.C. – Fredrik Modin had a goal and two assists to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes .

Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards each added a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who have won three of their past four games. Vaclav Prospal also had an assist, pushing his points streak to 13 games.

Justin Williams scored both goals for the Hurricanes, who lost for just the second time in 10 home games. The Hurricanes played without several key players who are sidelined with injuries, including captain Rod Brind’Amour, who missed his third straight game with a groin injury.

With its second victory of the season over Carolina, defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay moved within six points of the first-place Hurricanes in the Southeast Division.

Lecavalier put the Lightning ahead to stay with a power-play goal early in the second period, and Ruslan Fedotenko followed with an even-strength goal about 2 minutes later to push the lead to 3-1.

Williams – who beat John Grahame on a breakaway opportunity at 1:27 of the second – cut it to 3-2 when he scored on a penalty shot. After he was taken down by Dan Boyle on a Tampa Bay power play, Williams skated to his left and beat Grahame to the upper right corner of the net for the short-handed goal.

But Carolina got no closer. Martin St. Louis scored his seventh goal of the season at 5:44 of the third, taking a pass from Richards along the boards and beating Cam Ward with a short shot from the left side for a 4-2 lead.

Modin added an insurance goal on the power play less than 2 minutes later. Lecavalier corralled a puck that ricocheted off the boards behind the net and sent it into the crease. Modin then beat Mike Commodore to it and poked it past Ward at 7:30 of the period.

Notes: Carolina’s Frantisek Kaberle assisted on Williams’ first goal for his 100th NHL assist. … Hurricanes defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky left the game briefly in the first period after he was hit in the head with the puck as Richards tried to clear it on a power play. … The RBC Center hosted two college basketball games Sunday afternoon, ending with North Carolina State’s 73-57 win against Delaware in the Hispanic College Fund Classic. Workers then cleaned the arena, took up the basketball hardwood and adjusted seating for hockey in 1 hour, 45 minutes – a facility record for shortest turnaround time.

AP-ES-11-20-05 2140EST