Zucker, Penguins recover for OT victory against Lightning

TAMPA -- Jason Zucker scored his second goal of the game at 2:13 of overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins their fourth straight win, 5-4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Zucker scored with a one-timer from beyond the right face-off circle after a cross-ice feed from Marcus Petterson.
Jeff Petry scored twice in 25 seconds, and Pettersson and Jeff Carter each had two assists for the Penguins (31-21-9), who won 7-3 against Tampa Bay in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Tristan Jarry made 27 saves.
"It's important for us to get wins, regardless of our opponent," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "Obviously, we've got a ton of respect for that team; they're an accomplished group, loaded with talent. Our guys competed really hard.
"I think it means a lot to take four points from a team like that in the same week. I think our guys feel good about it. We can build on this one, for sure."

Brayden Point scored for the sixth straight game for the Lightning (37-19-5), who tied it twice in the third period but lost for the fourth time in five games (1-2-2). Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves.
"It felt like our effort was better," Point said. "We had some chances on the power play to go up, but overall, we did better. We're getting back to how can play. This was a step in the right direction."
Steven Stamkos tied it 3-3 for Tampa Bay 38 seconds into the third with a wrist shot from the left circle.
Drew O'Connor gave Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead at 6:59 when he fought off pressure from Darren Raddysh and beat Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot.
Victor Hedman tied it 4-4 at 15:50 with a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Jarry five-hole.
The Lightning went 2-for-5 on the power play; the Penguins were 0-for-5.
"It seems like we're going through a tough stretch right now where we can get the results we want, but I liked our push back," Hedman said. "Special teams were good. We played a great team that's playing well as of late. It was a close game that went to overtime, so we get this point and we'll move on."

Ross Colton gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 5:39 of the first period after Tanner Jeannot took a shot that hit Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang in the face and deflected off Colton and into the net.
Letang missed the remainder of the period with a facial laceration. He returned in the second period and finished with one assist in 12:37.
"I'm not surprised, because he's an ultra-competitive guy, tough as nails," Sullivan said. "I wasn't sure how long it would take, because he's got a pretty good gash there. It took a while to sew him up. It doesn't surprise me that he comes back into the game. He's got the heart of a lion."
Petry tied it 1-1 at 6:06 of the second period with a wrist shot from the left circle, then made it 2-1 at 6:31 from the right circle.
He is the fourth defenseman in the past 15 years to score two goals in 25 seconds or fewer, joining Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks (23 seconds on Nov. 1, 2022), Brent Burns (22 seconds with the Sharks on Feb. 11, 2015) and Dustin Byfuglien with the Chicago Blackhawks (16 seconds on Nov. 30, 2007).
"It's cool to see, especially from a defenseman," Jarry said. "Usually, it's a shot from the point or something trickles in. It's nice to see two goals, especially like that. That second one was awesome."

Point extended his goal streak when he tied it 2-2 on a power play at 9:39 after he jammed in a rebound off a shot from Mikhail Sergachev.
"We played well enough to win the game," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It's a game of mistakes, and every team makes mistakes. The ones we made tonight all ended up in the back of the net. They were some poor decisions. It happens in games, and many times it doesn't end up in the back of the net. Tonight, and it seems like as of late, they all are."
Zucker put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 at 15:06 on a breakaway.
NOTES:Zucker has scored in three straight games and has four goals over that span. … Forward Mikael Granlund made his Penguins debut after being acquired in a trade from the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. He was plus-1 in 16:16 of ice time. ... Point has 12 points (six goals, six assists) during his goal streak. …. Forward Nikita Kucherov extended his Lightning record home point streak to 21 games with an assist. ... Jeannot got his first point with Tampa Bay after being acquired from Nashville on Sunday. … Tampa Bay defenseman Erik Cernak took a puck off his foot in the second period and did not return. There was no update.