Martin St. Louis knew he was hot, but the Tampa Bay Lightning winger didn't know he was Wayne Gretzky hot.
St. Louis was named NHL player of the month for February on Tuesday.
He became the first player to win in consecutive months since Gretzky did it in his prime with the Edmonton Oilers in December and January of the 1986-87 season.
``It's a little weird, to be honest,'' St. Louis said during a conference call. ``I didn't realize that nobody else but Wayne has done that.
``I didn't think I'd be player of the month again. I knew I had a good January and as a team we had a good February, but a lot of guys on our team could have been player of the month. Brad Richards had a great month. So did Vinny (Lecavalier) and Cory Stillman. It's an honour.''
In January, St. Louis took the award with 25 points in 16 games. In February, he had 21 points in 13 games (seven goals, 14 assists) and was plus-10.
St. Louis edged Nashville Predators winger Steve Sullivan for the award. San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov earned the defensive player of the month award while winger Michael Ryder of the Montreal Canadiens earned rookie honours.
Ryder led all rookies in scoring with five goals and seven assists in 13 games, including a six-game point streak at the end of February. Nabokov posted an 8-2-0 record with a 1.75 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in February.
St. Louis' scoring spurt has helped give him 76 points in 65 games and he is battling Detroit's Robert Lang, Colorado's Alex Tanguay Vancouver's Markus Naslund and others for the Art Ross Trophy as league scoring leader.
``I try not to think about that,'' said St. Louis, who got March off to a good start with a goal in a 3-0 win over Colorado on Monday night. ``Who knows? I may never be in this position again in my career.
``Of course it's great to be up there, doing so well while the team is winning, but I'm not going to be a different player whether I win or lose.''
It's not bad for a player generously listed at five-foot-nine who was never drafted. He signed out of the University of Vermont with Calgary in 1998. After playing only four NHL games in two seasons with the Flames, he signed as a free agent with Tampa Bay in 2000.
Four seasons later, the Laval, Que., native is being mentioned as a candidate for the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player.
St. Louis has been the catalyst on a team that was in the doldrums in December. In a meeting with coach John Tortorella on Dec.18, the stocky winger was challenged to produce more. The pressure only made him stronger.
``At the time, a lot of our guys were slumping, me among them,'' he said. ``(Tortorella) said he needed more out of us.
``The bottom line is that I went in and asked him to give us the quality minutes - the first power plays, the offensive zone draws and so on. My ice time was down and he challenged us to be better. I told him I needed more because I thought I could come out of it.''
In early January, he was taken off a line with Richards, with whom he'd played for most of two seasons, and put onto a trio with Lecavalier, who was also struggling. The Lightning have been on a scoring rampage ever since.
``We felt we need two good lines going down the stretch,'' said St. Louis. ``It was a successful change.
``It's tough to check two lines.''
The Lightning, who made the playoffs for the first time in seven years last spring, are now in the thick of the fight for first place overall. They are 9-0-1-2 in their last 12 games.
It has helped that the Lightning have been shockingly healthy this season, with none of their key players missing.
``We're very fortunate and we know that,'' he said. ``We do knock on wood.''
St. Louis had a breakthrough season in 2002-03, with 70 points. He has already passed that total and needs one goal to match his career-high 33 of last season.
He leads the NHL in short-handed goals with seven and short-handed points with nine. He is plus-29 for the season, second best in the league.
``I try to get better every year,'' the 29-year-old said. ``I set the bar last year and this year it was expected of me.
``I put a lot of pressure on myself. I definitely owe it to my teammates. In this league, no one can do it my themselves. It's too good of a league.''