Pittsburgh Penguins Dropped By Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-3

The Penguins got into another shootout this week. The offensive firepower on the other end of the alley was a bit more than they could handle this time however.

The Pittsburgh Penguins certainly started off hot in this one. At one point in the first period, Pittsburgh held a 10-1 shots lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a 1-0 lead in the game. Patric Hornqvist got the Pens on the board quickly at 4:53 of the first period with assists from Chris Kunitz and Derrick Pouliot. That lead evaporated later in the period however, as Anton Stralman was left fairly wide open to snipe a wrist shot past Marc-Andre Fleury. There really wasn’t much that Fleury could have done about that shot.

You could say the same of the next Lightning goal as well. With under two minutes remaining in the first period, Nikita Kucherov took a long shot from the point while Fleury’s vision was obscured. Alex Killorn was in the right spot in front of the net and tipped the puck, bouncing it in past Fluery for a 2-1 Tampa Bay lead.

Early in the second period it looked like the Penguins might tie things up as they held a man advantage. It wasn’t to be though, as Chris Kunitz tried to tap the puck towards the offensive zone it was intercepted by Ondrej Palat. Once Palat had the puck on his stick, there was nothing but open ice between he and Fleury. And boy did Palat put on a breakaway clinic. He dangled the puck left and right putting Fleury into a near-full split before poking the puck through the five hole. 3-1 Lightning.

But the Penguins’ leadership would fight back. And who but Sidney Crosby would rise to the occasion? Getting a point in his ninth straight game, Crosby took a pass right in the slot from Kunitz in the corner, and while shooting dropped to one knee and sent the puck sailing over Ben Bishop‘s glove and into the

Nov 11, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Jeff Zatkoff (37) greets goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) as Fleury returns to the ice after suffering an injury during the first period against the Montreal Canadiens at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 4-3 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

net. Your best players have to be your best players, as the saying goes, for you to rise up through adversity.

It was short-lived momentum for the Penguins though, as the offensive surge continued for both teams. Just over a minute after Crosby scored, Tyler Johnson scored his seventh goal of the season. Eight seconds into a Lightning power play, Kucherov sent a pass cross-ice to Johnson who lifted the shot over Fleury’s left shoulder and into the top of the net.

And that’s when we saw something that doesn’t happen very often. Fleury was pulled. Coach Mike Sullivan likely just thought the team needed a change of pace in net. Or maybe he wanted to just give Fleury some rest. Whatever the case, Fleury can’t take all the blame for the four goals given up tonight, while he was in net. Some of the Tampa Bay forwards were just too wide open with too much time to pick their spot and shoot. And that Palat goal just wasn’t fair.

So Jeff Zatkoff entered the game in Fleury’s stead. Zatkoff has been looking to redeem himself after a January 18 road loss to the St. Louis Blues, as reported by Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And redeem himself he did.

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With Zatkoff keeping the Pens in the game, Pittsburgh’s offense came back to life. Charging the Lightning zone, Matt Cullen trailed the play and took a pass from Phil Kessel, sending it into the net to bring the deficit back to one goal.

With half of the third period in the books, Zatkoff made an astounding diving backhand stick save on Erik Condra from point-blank range.

But Zatkoff couldn’t keep the Pens in the game by himself. After a rebound on a shot by Steven Stamkos took a funky bounce in front of the net, Ondrej Palat had the puck in perfect position for his second goal of the game.