This was an extremely frustrating result for the Lightning. They surrendered a 2-0 first-period lead and dropped their third straight game in regulation. What made the blown lead especially difficult to swallow was that the Lightning facilitated Pittsburgh’s comeback with turnovers — turnovers that came from, as Jon Cooper put it afterward, “crazy, poor decisions.”
The first period was one of the strongest frames of the season for Tampa Bay. The Lightning fired 17 shots on net and accumulated numerous scoring chances. They converted on two of them — Steven Stamkos tipped in a Victor Hedman shot at 9:06, and Tanner Jeannot put in a rebound during a Lightning power play at 12:33. If not for Tristan Jarry, they would have scored more than two in the first period. But that has been part of the familiar storyline over the past three games: opposing goalies are erasing many of the Lightning’s scoring chances. Still, it was a dominant frame for the Lightning, and unlike the previous two contests, they were able to play with the lead.
Early in the second period, the Lightning generated additional chances — especially off the rush. But they passed their way out of some of them, and others missed the net.
Eventually, the Penguins began pushing back. The Pens spent more time in the offensive zone than they had in the first. Through the first eight and a half minutes of the period, however, they couldn’t score. Andrei Vasilevskiy denied all of those looks. But the first of two costly Lightning turnovers came just shy of the nine-minute mark. They lost the puck inside the offensive blue line, which led to a Sidney Crosby breakaway. He made a perfect shot, wristing the puck over Vasilevskiy’s stick and into the top of the net at 8:53.
The Pens applied consistent pressure for much of the rest of the period. But entering the final minute of the frame, the Lightning still held a 2-1 lead. Then came the second damaging turnover. Once again, it occurred in the offensive zone, and the Penguins were able to counter on a two-on-one. Evgeni Malkin set up Drew O’Connor for a tap-in goal at 19:24, tying the game.
Early in the third, Marcus Pettersson blocked a Lightning dump-in and wired a quick pass up ice to Jeff Carter, creating a three-on-two rush. Carter and Matt Nieto completed a give-and-go passing sequence — Carter finished his shot at 2:49.
The Penguins effectively locked things down for the rest of the third period. It’s true that the Lightning recorded 17 more shots in the third, but those attempts weren’t as dangerous as the ones they had registered in the first. The Pens did well to clear pucks from the defensive zone, and they effectively protected the front of their net.
Jarry had a strong game and was rewarded with an empty-net goal. He wristed the puck high in the air, and it went into the Lightning goal dead-center.
The Lightning have hurt themselves in a number of games with self-inflicted wounds. Unfortunately, this was another one to add to the list.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Tristan Jarry — Penguins. 39 saves. Empty-net goal.
- Sidney Crosby — Penguins. Goal.
- Marcus Pettersson — Penguins. Assist.
