TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Mike Smith turned practice into a victory.

Smith won for the first time in nine months, James Wright scored his first NHL goal and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 on Thursday night.

``He had a really good week of practice,' Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet said. ``When he practices well he's right on.'

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Smith, who missed the final 32 games last season because of post concussion syndrome, made 32 saves to stop a personal six-game losing streak with his first victory since Jan. 27.

``I worked really hard in practice this week and things turned out great for us,' Smith said. ``I got back to fundamentals this week. I think it helped, so hopefully it can carryover.'

Steven Stamkos had two goals and Andrej Meszaros and Ryan Malone also scored for the Lightning, who were outscored 11-2 in losing their previous two games.

San Jose got goals from Ryan Vesce and Dan Boyle. The Sharks are 2-2 during a six-game trip.

``We're just not playing the full 60 minutes,' Boyle said. ``We're making some mistakes and they're costing us goals.'

Wright's first goal - in the eighth game of his rookie season - came from the low slot off a pass from Martin St. Louis just 30 seconds into the game. St. Louis has started the season with a point in eight consecutive, picking up nine assists and 12 points over the stretch.

``He's a breath of fresh air,' Tocchet said of Wright. ``He's a 19-year old that does what you ask.'

Malone made it 2-0 when he redirected David Hale's shot for his seventh goal this season with 4:59 left in the first.

``Once again our start isn't the way it should be, so as a coach I'll have some questions to ask some of the leaders,' San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. ``We'll be looking for some answers.'

The Sharks rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to beat the New York Rangers 7-3 on Monday night.

San Jose got to 2-1 on Vesce's goal from in-close at 12:34 of the second. He has a goal in three straight games.

Tampa Bay went ahead 3-1 with 3:21 to go in the second on Stamkos' fifth goal of the season. Meszaros extended Tampa Bay's advantage to three goals early in the third.

Boyle scored a power-play goal with 6:19 remaining in the third.

Stamkos had an empty-netter during the final minute.

Vincent Lecavalier's goal-scoring drought reached 15 consecutive games, dating to March 17. The Lightning captain did get his seventh assist on Wright's goal.

NOTES: San Jose won both games against Tampa Bay last season, outscoring the Lightning 10-1. This was the lone game between the teams this season. ... Stamkos has four goals and six points over the past four games. ... Sharks D Jason Demers assisted on Vesce's goal and has five assists in his last three games. ... Sharks C Joe Thornton tied San Jose GM Doug Wilson and Dave Keon for 74th on the career assists list (590) when he assisted on Boyle's goal.