With four first-period goals in a 3:47 span, the Lightning broke open a scoreless game and cruised to a blowout victory.
The Penguins dictated play in the early minutes as the Lightning attempted to get in sync after Monday’s cross-country flight. But once Anthony Cirelli (playing in his 500th NHL regular season game) opened the scoring at 12:13, the floodgates opened. Nick Paul deflected a Ryan McDonagh point shot, and the puck hit Cirelli before it reached Tristan Jarry. From the low slot, Cirelli whipped a forehand shot in between Jarry’s pads. Just over a minute later, McDonagh threw a puck from the left corner towards the net. It deflected off Rickard Rakell and into the net. Soon after, the Lightning won a defensive-zone faceoff and countered up ice. Brandon Hagel passed to Cirelli at the left circle, and Cirelli snapped the puck past Jarry on the short side at 15:12. Forty-eight seconds later, Brayden Point collected a rebound of a Jake Guentzel shot and nudged the puck across the goal line. The Point goal ended Jarry’s night, and Alex Nedeljkovic replaced him.
Sometimes, a big early lead can invite sloppy play, but the Lightning avoided any pitfalls. They managed the final 40 minutes well. A couple of late second-period goals extended their advantage to 6-0. A late goal from Bryan Rust spoiled Andrei Vasilevskiy’s shutout bid but had no bearing on the outcome.
This past weekend, the Lightning struggled defensively in losses at Utah and Vegas. Uncharacteristically, they were loose in front of their goaltenders. They were much tighter in that area against Pittsburgh, and they delivered a strong overall defensive performance. The Penguins managed to post only 15 shots on net and generated very few scoring chances.
It was a good start to the Lightning’s three-game homestand. Next up is a rematch with Utah on Thursday.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Anthony Cirelli — Lightning. Two goals in 500th career NHL game.
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. Goal and two assists. Eclipsed 100 points.
- Brandon Hagel — Lightning. Goal and assist.
