The Tampa Bay Lightning saw their five-game winning streak end in Game 2 at Pittsburgh, but they still managed to grab the home-ice advantage as the Eastern Conference final switches to Amalie Arena tied 1-1.
Ending an eight-game goalless drought with the Game 2 winner and the first Stanley Cup overtime goal of his career, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is off the snide and that can't be good news for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Scoring at the 40-second mark, it was also the quickest OT winner in Penguins playoff history, suprassing the mark of 47 seconds set by George Ferguson in 1979. And it was Crosby's 47th playoff goal, moving him into third on Pittsburgh's all-time list.
Perhaps now that he owns the last change and control of the matchups, Lightning coach Jon Cooper can get his slumbering top line back to work. Tyler Johnson (4-9-13) and Nikita Kucherov (9-3-12), Tampa Bay's two leading playoff scorers, are without a point in the series and a combined minus-one. Cooper wants more puck possession and shots than the 41 they generated in the two games at Pittsburgh.
Anticipate the same goaltending matchup as in Game 2. Cooper indicated that Ben Bishop, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 1, is close to being ready but planned on sticking with Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes for Game 3 after he made 38 stops in Game 2. Matt Murray goes for the Penguins.
Seeing his first action in 19 games since suffering a fractured fibula March 26, Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman opened the scoring for them in Game 2, giving him five goals in four games this season against Pittsburgh, but he also made a couple of ill-advised pinches that led to Penguins goals, including Crosby's OT winner. Gritty Tampa Bay forward Ryan Callahan missed Game 2 due to the flu and is listed as questionable for Game 3.
The Penguins snapped Tampa Bay's five-game winning streak and the Lightning's six-game road playoff winning streak. The Penguins also tied a franchise mark with their third OT win of the postseason, something Pittsburgh also accomplished in 2001 and 2009. It was also the Penguins' first win against the Lightning since Jan. 2, 2015 and ended a five-game playoff losing skid against Tampa Bay that extended back to Game 4 of the 2011 Eastern Conference quarter-final between the two teams.
Pittsburgh coach Mike SUllivan benched Connor Sheary, who'd played much of the playoffs on Crosby's wing, for the third period and overtime of Game 3 and it was Bryan Rust, who replaced Sheary on the top line, that set up Crosby's winner.
Pick: The Lightning (-263)
Category : News
More articles...What: 2025 NCAAF National Championship Game Who: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame When: Monday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia How to watch: ESPN It's all coming down to this. College football fans across the planet were treated to some incredible games to the regular season and thus far […]
What: 2025 NFL Divisional Round Who: Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills Where: Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, New York When: Sunday, January 19 at 6:30 p.m. ET How to watch: CBS and Paramount+ After a thrilling opening week of the NFL postseason, only eight teams remain in the hunt to win the Super Bowl this season. […]
What: UFC 311 Who: Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan in the main event Where: Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California When: Saturday, January 18th at 9 p.m. ET How to watch: PPV event Who's ready for what's already going to be one of the best matchups of the year in the UFC? That's what plenty of people […]
What: 2025 Australian Open When: Now until the final on January 26 Where: Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia How to watch: ESPN and ESPN2 It hasn't taken long, but we've already reached the first Grand Slam tournament of the year for tennis fans everywhere to enjoy. In this case, we're talking about the Australian Open, […]
