No Geno, no problem.
Sidney Crosby scored twice, Beau Bennett added his first of his career, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves as the Penguins defeated the Lightning 5-3 depsite playing without Evgeni Malkin. The win moved Pittsburgh two points ahead of the New Jersey Devils for the Atlantic Division.
Crosby gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead just 1:16 into the opening period. Chris Kunitz took advantage of one of many Lightning turnovers in the first period, intercepting the puck at center ice. Kunitz passed the puck to Crosby along the right face off circle and the Penguins’ captain beat Anders Lindback short side, over the goalie’s right shoulder.
Crosby was credited with a second goal seven minutes into the first period on a flukey play. Paul Martin’s slap shot from the point was stopped by Lindback but the puck trickled behind the goaltender before he kicked it into the net. Scorers determined Crosby was the last Penguin player to touch the puck, and credited him with his ninth goal of the season.
Paul Martin would eventually add a goal of his own with under thirty seconds remaining in the first. Steven Stamkos fell down in the attacking zone and handed the puck right to Matt Cooke, creating a 3 on 2 rush for the Penguins. Cooke passed to Martin in the slot, who paused before dishing the puck back to Cooke. Cooke’s shot from a sharp angle hit Lindback’s right pad and bounced out to Martin who found a wide open net.
Joe Vitale and former Penguins Adam Hall were involved in a scrap just before the first period ended and it appeared to give Tampa Bay some momentum to start the second.
The Lightning came out in the second period with Mathieu Garon in net, and better team play. Eric Brewer scored his fourth goal of the season just 1:37 into the second period. Steven Stamkos took the puck away from Kunitz and snapped a cross-ice pass to Brewer. The puck bounced off of Brooks Orpik and squeezed just inside the right post.
Tampa Bay scored again less than two minutes later, taking advantage of a 5 on 3 power play opportunity. Simon Despres took a hooking penalty and Craig Adams was called for boarding early in the Tampa Bay power play. The Lightning didn’t take long, setting up Steven Stamkos for one of his signature one-timers from the high slot.
The Penguins were granted a 5 on 3 power play opportunity of their own later in the second. Beau Bennett drew an interference call on Eric Brewer and Sami Salo took an interference penalty 42 seconds later. Kris Letang kept the play alive at the blue line and found Sidney Crosby along the far boards. Crosby’s perfect pass found Bennett in the face off circle to the right of the cage, and the rookie fired a perfect shot for his first NHL goal.
Pittsburgh had another power play left over but Tampa Bay had the biggest chance to score when Nate Thompson was denied on a breakaway by Marc-Andre Fleury.
The Lightning pulled within one early in the third period on a goal from Cory Conacher. The diminutive undrafted free agent who has drawn comparisons to teammate Marty St Louis, scored one of the easiest goals of his life. Viktor Hedman’s shot deflected off of Joe Vitale’s leg and landed right on Conacher’s stick.
Moments later, Richard Panik received a pass from Matt Carle and split the defensemen at the blue line. However, Fleury stood tall and denied Panik on the breakaway chance. The Penguins survived Tampa Bay’s onslaught and Matt Cooke scored the empty net goal to seal the win.
- Crosby’s assist on Bennett’s goal gave him his 636th point, passing Rick Kehoe for third on the all-time Penguins list.
- The top two scoring leaders, Crosby and Stamkos, combined for six points.
- The Penguins are 5-1 against the Southeast Division this year
Three Stars
- Sidney Crosby
- Steven Stamkos
- Beau Bennett
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
