ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Tampa Bay coach Steve Ludzik's pregame pep talk with Dan Kesa produced dramatic results.

Kesa, who had scored just five times in his previous 112 NHL appearances, responded with his first two-goal game Wednesday night as the Lightning beat Anaheim 4-2.

Darcy Tucker scored the go-ahead goal for Tampa Bay with 2:45 remaining, then added an empty-net goal.

The announced crowd of 12,047 was the smallest ever for a Mighty Ducks' home game. While that figure reflected tickets sold, the 17,174-seat arena appeared less than half full.

Ludzik said he knew Kesa had the ability to score, because he had coached him for two years in the IHL.

"He scored 50 goals for me. I told him, 'I figure you can get us 20 here if you just start shooting,' " Ludzik said. "He's been getting chances, he just wasn't shooting.

"I told him that I thought he was making too much of a big deal about this league."

Kesa took his coach's advice to heart.

"He gave me a little confidence-booster. He told me I was capable of scoring in this league, and I did that tonight. I happened to score a couple, so I have to give him credit for helping me out," said Kesa, who had scored only once this season.

Tampa Bay's victory ended a five-game losing streak against the Mighty Ducks.

Anaheim, meanwhile, still hasn't been able to win three in a row this season. The Mighty Ducks had won two straight, for the fifth time, heading into the game against Tampa Bay.

"There's not enough killer instinct in this dressing room right now," the Mighty Ducks' Steve Rucchin said. "We win a few games and we've got a chance to get something good going, and we don't want to play hockey.

"We just think it's going to come easy. There's not a team in this league that's not going to battle us every night."

Tucker snapped a 2-2 tie when he took a pass across the crease from Stan Drulia and beat Anaheim goalie Guy Hebert on the glove side. Tucker added his fifth goal with 30 seconds remaining.

Kesa tied it 2-2 with 3:58 left in the second period.

Mike Sillinger was bearing down on the Anaheim goal, but a Mighty Ducks defenseman knocked the puck away. Kesa, trailing on the play, picked up the puck and fired a 15-footer to beat Hebert.

After Kesa scored on Tampa Bay's first shot of the game, 1:40 into the contest, Anaheim answered with goals by Paul Kariya and Mike Leclerc later in the period.

Leclerc, skating down the slot, lost the puck, but it caromed off a defender and back to him. Leclerc whirled around and got off a shot that got past Dan Cloutier, who was screened on the play. It was Leclerc's fifth goal.

Kariya had drawn the Mighty Ducks even at 6:17 of the period with his 12th goal. Teemu Selanne skated behind the Tampa Bay net and slid the puck to Kariya as he was breaking down the slot.

Anaheim, which has had an average attendance of 16,836 in the 17,174-seat Arrowhead Pond since coming into the league in 1993, is experiencing a dropoff at the gate. The Mighty Ducks' previous lowest turnout was 12,496, on Nov. 22 against Montreal.