Pittsburgh Penguins beat Tampa Bay Lightning while Los Angeles Kings overcome Dallas Stars–NHL Recap
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tampa Bay Lightning
After displaying an early aggression, Tampa Bay Lightning seemed to have lost its way as Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to win the game, 4-2, thanks to Evgeni Malkin’s two goals on Sunday, February 12, 2012, at CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Steve Downie scored two goals in quick succession in the first period to get a strong two-goal advantage, but Tampa Bay just could not protect the lead.
Malkin scored his first goal in the first period to reduce the deficit to one goal at the end of the period.
The second period was completely dominated by Penguins.
Within the first minute, Chris Kunitz levelled the score.
Kris Letang provided the go-ahead goal at 4:28, while Malkin got his second goal at 10:54.
No scoring move was made in the final period and the final score settled at 4-2 in favour of Pittsburgh.
"He's playing dominating hockey. It's been pretty spectacular," Penguins’ coach, Dan Bylsma, said of Malkin.
Pittsburgh is ranked at fifth spot in the National Hockey League (NHL) Eastern Conference with 69 points after 56 games and will take on Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
On the other hand, Tampa Bay is ranked at 12th spot in the same conference with 54 points after 55 games and will face Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
Los Angeles Kings vs Dallas Stars
A dominant performance in the final 10 minutes of the game earned Los Angeles Kings a victory over Dallas Stars in a National Hockey League (NHL) game on Sunday, February 12, 2012, at American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas.
After going two goals down, Dallas managed to level the score. However, Kings scored two more goals in the final 10 minutes to seal the victory.
At 11:29, Jordan Nolan scored the go-ahead goal, which was followed by Justin Williams’ goal in the final minute of the regulation.
Earlier, Dwight King brought Kings in lead in the first period, and Andrei Loktionov scored a goal in the second to strengthen the edge.
But Loui Eriksson and Michael Ryder scored a goal each to level the score.
Dallas coach, Glen Gulutzan, said after the loss:
“We didn't start good, that's for sure. We gave them a goal early and had to press from behind. We should have been ready to play from the beginning. We had a couple guys not ready to go."
Dallas is currently placed at 11th spot in the Western Conference with 59 points after 55 games and will face Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Los Angeles is in the safe zone and eying a playoff spot. It is currently ranked at seventh spot in the same conference with 65 points after 57 games.
Kings will take on Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday.
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