Pittsburgh 4, Tampa Bay 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, March 4, 2013
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Francis Charron, Stephen Walkom
Linesmen:
Derek Amell, Derek Nansen
Attendance:
18656
By SportsDirect Inc.
Penguins 4, Lightning 3: Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby scored 1:51 apart in the third period as Pittsburgh rallied to hand visiting Tampa Bay its fifth consecutive loss.
Malkin, playing his first game after missing the last four with a concussion, intercepted a poor pass in the neutral zone and weaved his way in to score at 5:38 of the third to tie it and Crosby swept home a cross-ice feed from defenseman Kris Letang for a 3-2 lead. Chris Kunitz also scored and Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves for the Penguins, while James Neal added an empty-net goal that turned out to be the game-winner.
Steven Stamkos scored his league-leading 16th and 17th goals, the 17th coming with 8 seconds left, and Tom Pyatt also had a goal for the Lightning. Anders Lindback stopped 16 of 18 shots in relief of starter Mathieu Garon, who left the game early in the second period with a lower-body injury after allowing one goal on nine shots.
The Penguins, who scored three first-period goals in the 5-3 win over Tampa Bay on Feb. 24, got on the board quickly again. Crosby took the puck around the left faceoff circle and fed Kunitz, who beat Garon from the slot for his 12th goal 4:13 into the contest.
Stamkos tied the game at 2:39 of the second period, setting up at the top of the crease and redirecting defenseman Victor Hedman’s low pass. Pyatt put the Lightning ahead when Nate Thompson’s shot from the low slot hit him in the nose and went over Fleury with 8:01 left in the second session.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Lightning LW Ondrej Palat, a seventh-round draft choice in 2011, was called up to make his NHL debut with LW Benoit Pouliot (upper-body injury) out and assisted on Pyatt’s goal. … Kunitz extended his point streak to a career-high six games and recorded a goal for the fourth consecutive contest. … Stamkos has 17 points during a 10-game point streak.
Top Game Performances
| Tampa Bay |
|
Pittsburgh |
|
Steven Stamkos 2 |
Points |
Sidney Crosby 2 |
|
Steven Stamkos 2 |
Goals |
Sidney Crosby 1 |
|
Martin St. Louis 2 |
Assists |
Kris Letang 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Mathieu Garon .923 |
Save Percentage |
Marc-Andre Fleury .893 |
|
Anders Lindback 16 |
Saves |
Marc-Andre Fleury 25 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Tampa Bay
|
28 |
3 |
0-1 |
3-3 |
13 |
35 |
| Pittsburgh
|
32 |
4 |
0-3 |
1-1 |
9 |
31 |
Upcoming Games
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Penguins have a W/L % of .643 after a win and .625 after a loss.
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Lightning have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .250 after a loss.
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