On a night where Kris Letang made his return, the Pittsburgh Penguins capitalized on three power plays to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3.
The Pens scored six goals on 41 shots on the night.
The first period was relatively quiet, with then Pens scoring two goals early on. At the 15:53 mark, Jussi Jokenin scored on a 14 foot wristshot from Brendan Morrow. Just two minutes later, Pascal Dupuis scored the Pens first power play goal of the night on a 20 foot shot. The Lightning added a goal towards the end of the period, making it 2-1.
The second period provided some action as the Lightning dug in and kept fighting. At the 14:14 mark, Tampa Bay scored their second power play goal of the game, bringing the score to 3-2 to keep the Lightning in the game. The Pens took 14 shots on goal in the 2nd period but only came out with one goal, a power play goal by Chris Kunitz early in the period.
The third period is when the Penguins showed their dominance over the Lightning.
After starting the period with a 4-on-4, Evgeni Malkin took the puck on a turnover by Tampa Bay down the right side of the ice and banged it in on the far side of the net for the early goal. This goal set the tempo for Pittsburgh in the third penalty. The Pens did not let up one bit down the stretch.
Jokinen added a fantastic deflection goal just three minutes later. Dupuis passed the puck across the ice to Douglas Murray who shot the puck wide to the left. Jokinen had great awareness and deflected the puck in for the score. Tanner Glass added the Pens final power play goal with three minutes left. The goal was his first as a Penguin.
Letang ended up with an assist and two hit on his return. Jokinen had two goals and an assist while Jarome Iginla and Dupuis both added two assists on the night. Tomas Voukon finished the night with 19 saves and three goals against him.
The win is the Penguins third in a row. They’ll take on the Florida Panthers on Saturday at 7:30 on the road.
Photo Credit: Post Gazette
