Lightning Strikes the Penguins

Did you ever come off of an extended bender and just find the hangover so indescribably excruciating that it seemed to resonate in your cerebellum for the next week? Well, the Penguins weren’t out drinking, but the week between Christmas and New Year’s was a nightmare for Pittsburgh going 0-3 and doing it in demoralizing fashion. After losing to the league’s second worst team in Toronto on the 27th, the Penguins embarked on a snowy road trip to Buffalo where they built an early 3-0 lead only to squander it away down the stretch and be topped 4-3 by the Sabres. Then there was the other night in New Jersey against the Devils where we could still be playing and Martin Brodeur still wouldn’t have given up a goal as the Pens were beaten 2-0 by the Devils. Of the team’s recent difficulties against New Jersey, Head Coach Dan Bylsma said: “I know our team battled hard and we played a good game. We played the way we needed to play. We would have liked to have gotten one by Brodeur and tied that game up.” It isn’t 2009 anymore, so it’s time to start off the new decade on a good note as the Pens are in sunny Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning and get back to their winning ways. Unlike the Penguins, the Lightning have stormed into the new year going 4-1-1 from December 18th to the start of 2010. To be successful in their New Year’s resolution, Pittsburgh will have to contain second year standout Steven Stamkos who has been without question the best player on the ice for Tampa Bay this year. Stamkos has really worked on becoming a two-way player and to that point he commented: “You want to be out there in all situations and be a player that can be counted on offensively and defensively. That’s what I’m trying to do.” The Lightning have to be thrilled with what they’ve seen from this growing talent and his abilities are only beginning to flourish at the tender age of 19.

Between the pipes in this one will be Marc-Andre Fleury after getting a rest courtesy of Brent Johnson’s effort in New Jersey while the Lightning will skate Mike Smith into the goal crease. Much like his teammates, Smith has been playing some of his best hockey of late with a 2.38 GAA and a .938 save percentage in his last five starts. The Pens really need to draw some penalties here today as they have had just five chances with the man advantage in their last three games. The rubber meets the ice and things get underway as Pittsburgh will be without Sergei Gonchar who will be scratched this afternoon after being hit in the foot by a shot from the Devils Brian Rolston on Wednesday night. The Pens have now allowed the first goal in 13 of their last 18 games as Martin St. Louis takes a pass from Mattias Ohlund in front of the crease and finds the net behind Fleury to give the Lightning a jolt to start this one at 1-0 Tampa. Fleury is forced to do some gymnastics in the Pittsburgh goal as the Lightning have him flopping around as they move the puck around the cage to threaten a second tally. Martin Skoula takes a penalty in the Pens zone for playing the puck with a broken twig putting Pittsburgh on the kill as they are scrambling to stay afloat here in the early going. Some furious work on the man advantage by Stamkos and company forces Fleury to work hard again before the time expires and Skoula is set free. Tampa really seems to have the jump on the Pens outworking them in the zone and generating superior chances as Stamkos works below the goal line to get the biscuit to St. Louis who fires another shot into the midsection of Fleury who eats the shot up for a near circle faceoff. The Lightning have been camping out in front of the Pittsburgh net impeding the vision of Fleury as they look to do the dirty work deflecting pucks and cleaning up rebounds with their five scoring chances to the Penguins zero to this point in the contest. What a time for the first scoring opportunity of the game as a great outlet from Jay McKee to Jordan Staal starts things before Staal’s shot comes off of the pads of Smith right onto the blade of Bill Guerin who finishes the chance off putting the puck into the net to even things up at 1-1. Pittsburgh will look to dig themselves out of the grave here as despite being outplayed for the majority of this period they will be on the power play to finish the opening frame after Vinny LeCavalier takes a holding penalty for Tampa.

Some great chances on the first power play of the game end the 1st period and Pittsburgh will carry some positive momentum into the remaining 40 minutes after really nice cycling and pucks on net will give them some much needed confidence. Period two starts with a bit of frightening moment as Brooks Orpik comes barreling back into his own zone to break up a two on one and flies into his net clipping Fleury in the process, but thankfully both are alright and the net is put back in its proper place. Former Penguin and Pittsburgh native Ryan Malone creates a nice chance for the Lightning going to the net taking two shots on the Penguins net that are fought off by Fleury. The game begins to develop a crazy fast pace with end to end action on long passes and a nice carry into the zone by Evgeni Malkin creates a great chance for the Pens. Tampa has a fantastic chance of their own the Fleury makes a dynamic save on reaching out with his blocker to deny the chance for Stephane Veilleux. More ridiculous goaltending at the other end of the ice as Smith uses all of his 6’4” frame to deny Maxime Talbot and Mike Rupp on the Penguins rush to the Tampa net. Malone is called for an offensive zone penalty as he holds the stick of Alex Goligoski to give the Pens their second power play chance. The Pens are unable to get anything on the man advantage, but some overkill on a cross check on the Lightning end boards by Matt Smaby on Ruslan Fedotenko will put Pittsburgh right back on the power play. Despite having a stickless defenseman on the ice for the full two minutes, Pittsburgh cannot capitalize on a great chance to get the lead as they spent too much time looking for the perfect shot instead of just getting the puck on net. Chaos breaks out in the Penguins zone as Stamkos gets a puck on Fleury and Zenon Konopka runs the Penguins goalkeeper into the net before he puts the loose puck into the net earning a 2-1 lead for Tampa. The Pens defense continues to play on its heels as Tampa is just tape to tape around the Pittsburgh net moving the puck on a string before Fleury again has to deny Malone on the doorstep. Malone, Stamkos, and St. Louis have been incredible here in this game when their line is united out on the ice controlling the pace and really outworking the Penguins defensemen. Kris Letang takes a cross checking penalty and Tampa will close out this period with the man advantage.

Pittsburgh survives the kill right before the horn as Tampa carries that 2-1 lead to the final period after outshooting the Pens by a two to one margin in that 2nd period of action. The Pens need to get some traffic and throw more rubber at the pads of Smith to maybe earn a puck on pads rebound chance at the equalizer in the 3rd period. This stanza begins with the Pens looking to get to their game chasing pucks into the zone and winning the battles along the boards as the Staal line sets a good example to get things going. Goligoski begins a nice center drive rush by the Pens with an outlet to Staal who drives up the middle of the ice into the Tampa zone before feeding Matt Cooke whose shot is denied by Smith and the scrum afterward results in offsetting penalties to Cooke and Konopka meaning four on four hockey. LeCavalier breaks in on Fleury alone, but a late slash from Mark Eaton warrants a penalty shot to the Lightning. Thankfully the Flower comes up huge with a post to post pad save on the penalty shot to keep the Pens in this one. So much for the momentum going the Penguins way after that stop as a loose puck finds its way onto the tape of Steve Downie who whips a wrist shot over the shoulder of Fleury into the net for a 3-1 Tampa lead. The hole continues to deepen as Staal takes a boarding penalty putting Tampa on the power play again. A shorthanded push by Sidney Crosby draws a holding call on Kurtis Foster to even things up for some more four on four action. A two on one for Crosby and Malkin as the patience of Malkin gets him a good look at the net, but his shot clanks the post. Crosby makes a fantastic takeaway at the blue line and makes an inside out move on Smith but the shot just drifts wide of the net. The Pens are really off of their game looking to pass too often instead of putting in the extra work to dump and chase to generate zone time for their offense. Frustration is boiling over a bit as Crosby blatantly cross checks Veilleux from behind in front of the official and is sent to the box as this one is winding to an unsatisfying close.

This loss is the fourth in a row for the Pens and that matches a mark that they did not want to repeat this year as they lost four consecutive in early November on their long road trip to the west coast when they had a laundry list of injuries. It is a bit disconcerting that this current losing streak has been for the most part with all hands on deck so it’s back to the drawing board for Pittsburgh. They just appear to be getting outworked on a nightly basis over this last week and a half in particular tonight. With the quick turnaround heading south to face the Panthers early tomorrow evening, Pittsburgh will really need to look in the mirror and dig deep to find the extra determination necessary to outwork their opponents from here forward.

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Bill Guerin, Brian Rolston, Brooks Orpik, Buffalo Sabres, Dan Bylsma, Evgeni Malkin, Jay McKee, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Kurtis Foster, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Martin Brodeur, Martin Skoula, Martin St. Louis, Matt Cooke, Matt Smaby, Mattias Ohlund, Maxime Talbot, Mike Rupp, Mike Smith, New Jersey Devils, Ryan Malone, Sergei Gonchar, Stephane Veilleux, Steve Downie, Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vinny LeCavalier, Zenon Konopka