Evgeni Malkin may have missed four games but looked as though he never missed a second in his return.
The Penguins scored three goals in the third period to come back against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Monday night, winning 4-3 at Consol Energy Center. Three of the top players in the NHL didn’t disappoint as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos combined for six points including four goals.
Malkin registered two points including a highlight-reel goal that tied the score at two early in the third period. Sidney Crosby also finished with two points while netting his 11th of the season less than two minutes after Malkin scored.
Evgeni Malkin returned to the lineup after missing four games with a concussion he sustained on February 22nd against the Florida Panthers. From the moment the puck dropped, the Russian superstar, nicknamed “Geno”, was creating chances and coming within inches of scoring. He was stopped twice by Mathieu Garon -who left the game due to a lower body injury- while on the power play and had a couple of shots blocked.
The Penguins got on the board first with Chris Kunitz’s 12th goal of the year. Sidney Crosby took the puck out of the corner in the Tampa Bay zone and with Steven Stamkos draped all over him, Crosby dished a pass to Kunitz in the high slot for a sizzling one-timer that beat Garon on the glove side.
Tampa Bay would come back in the second period, scoring the next two goals. Martin St. Louis sent a cross-ice pass to Victor Hedman who threw it in front for the easy tip-in by Steven Stamkos.
The Lightning added a second goal and appeared to be getting the breaks needed to break a four game losing steak. After Kris Letang hit two goal posts and Tyler Kennedy had a deflected puck sit on the goal line, the Lightning scored their second goal of the night on a weird bounce in front of the net. Nate Thompson took a wrist shot near the point and the puck hit Tom Pyatt in the face before floating over Marc-Andre Fleury and in the net.
With a 2-1 lead heading into the final period, the Lightning looked to be in the driver’s seat to win the game. Matt Niskanen went to the box for interference three minutes into the third period, sending one of the best power play units on the ice. But the Penguins killed the penalty allowing the superstars to take over.
Evgeni Malkin took advantage of a Tampa Bay turnover in the neutral zone and charged down the right side with the puck. Just feet away from the crease, Malkin cut back towards the middle of the slot, jumped between two Lightning defenders, and fired the puck past Anders Lindback for the game-tying goal.
Less than two minutes later, Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby connected to give the Penguins the lead. Crosby led a 4 on 2 rush after picking Stamkos’s pocket at the other end and made a behind the back pass to Letang. Letang circled behind the net with the puck before finding Crosby for a cross-ice one-timer into a wide open net. The goal let out a huge fist pump from Crosby as a crowd of 18,656 cheered in astonishment and excitement.
The Penguins would add an empty net goal from James Neal to extend the lead to 4-2. The goal would end up being the game-winner as Stamkos added his second goal of the night, batting a puck out of mid-air with eight seconds remaining. The Penguins would hold off the Lightning to win their second straight game.
- Chris Kunitz has six goals in his last six games.
- Sidney Crosby has 11 points in his last five games.
- The Penguins won their first game of the season when trailing after two periods.
Three Stars
- Sidney Crosby
- Evgeni Malkin
- Steven Stamkos
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
