The Lightning were far from their best in this game, but thanks to stellar goaltending from Jonas Johansson and some timely offense, they managed to prevail.
The Penguins were looking to bounce back from an embarrassing 5-0 home loss on Saturday afternoon against Ottawa, while the Lightning had to deal with an early-morning arrival in Pittsburgh following their game on Saturday night at New Jersey. From the get-go, the Lightning didn’t match Pittsburgh’s intensity. In what was a lopsided first period, the Penguins were hungrier and played with more pace than the Lightning. Tampa Bay struggled to execute plays and were slow to react when the Penguins had the puck. Fortunately, Johansson was on top of his game. He made 13 first-period saves, many of which came on scoring chances. Rickard Rakell’s goal at 14:20 was the only shot to beat him. Following a Sidney Crosby offensive-zone faceoff win, Marcus Pettersson took a center-point shot that Gage Goncalves partially blocked. The puck caromed closer to the net, where it deflected off Bryan Rust’s stick directly to an open Rakell. Rakell snapped the puck in from the low slot.
The Lightning managed to post just two shots on net in the first and only eight attempts (the Pens had 29). But Johansson kept his team within a goal after 20 minutes.
The Lightning’s play improved in the second period, although they still had puck management issues and yielded scoring chances. But during a four-on-four, they tied the game. Brandon Hagel accepted a pass from Anthony Cirelli and skated into the offensive zone. He snapped a left-circle shot over the glove of Tristan Jarry at 6:54. It was only the Lightning’s fourth shot on goal in the game.
Hagel’s goal leveled the ice, and the rest of the second period was evenly played. The Lightning grabbed the lead at 16:04 when Nikita Kucherov drilled home a one-timer from the slot.
An early third-period penalty on the Lightning gave the Penguins their second power play of the game, and they cashed in. Crosby won two faceoffs during the man advantage, helping the Penguins maintain possession in the offensive zone. Kevin Hayes attempted a close-range shot that went through the crease. Rakell forced it back across the blue paint to Hayes, who tapped it in at 2:17.
The Pens pressed the attack for the next several minutes but didn’t score. At 6:17, a Lightning d-zone turnover led to a penalty on Cirelli. Without one of their top penalty killers, the Lightning successfully navigated their way through the kill. Once the penalty ended, the teams played over eight-and-a-half minutes of whistle-free hockey. It was the strongest stretch from the Lightning in the game — they held the Penguins to just one shot on goal during that timeframe. It came with 10:38 remaining and was Pittsburgh’s final SOG in the game.
The Lightning did well during the final 11 minutes of the third to limit costly mistakes. The Penguins weren’t able to do the same. Noel Acciari muffed a pass at the Pittsburgh blue line, and Kucherov stole the puck. He countered on a breakaway and finished his shot at 16:57, giving the Lightning a 3-2 lead. Empty-netters from Cirelli and Nick Paul set the final at 5-2.
For much of the night, the Lightning didn’t play to their standard. But Hagel and Kucherov made big plays, Johansson erased scoring chances, and the Lightning added two more standings points to their total.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Jonas Johansson — Lightning. 31 saves.
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. Two goals and assist.
- Brandon Hagel — Lightning Goal and assist.
