Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to lead series – NHL Play-offs
The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 at the St. Pete Times Forum on Monday to take a 2-1 lead in the National Hockey League play-off series.
The first two games at the Consol Centre saw the Lightning record a superb performance and level the series with a 5-1 win in the second game.
The Penguins were not bothered even though they were playing on away ice. Their offence was very strong right from the start that resulted in them scoring two early goals to get into comfortable position. The Lightning managed to come up with a fighting
performance that saw them scoring a goal as well. The second period was more defence dominated where there were fewer shots on goal and several attacks were cut down. The final period saw the Lightning coming across a power-play that saw them scoring to bring
the game level. However, the Penguins scored in the same minute to get into the lead and win the game 3-2 in the end. Kris Letang of the Penguins was named the Star of the Game as he ended his night with two brilliant assists.
The Penguins with some crisp and pin-point passing were able to get past the opposing defence on several occasions in the opening period. This early dominance saw them scoring in the sixth minute through Maxime Talbot from a well placed flick-shot to get
into the lead.
The Penguins continued to attack which resulted in them scoring once again in the next minute to double the lead. The goal was scored by Arron Asham from a decent strike.
The Lightning also started to get better with the passage of time and piled up quite a few shots on goal. Tampa Bay came across a power-play half way through the period and scored through Martin St. Louis to trail by a single goal.
The period came to an end with the Penguins leading 2-1 as they made 12 shots on goal while the Lightning made 11 goal attempts.
The second period witnessed the Lightning making six shots on goal while the Penguins made nine. However, the defence of both teams was on top and did not allow any goals as the period ended with the Penguins still leading 2-1.
The Lightning came across an early power-play in the final period and scored through Martin St. Louis once again in the third minute to level the score. However, the Penguins responded with a goal in the same minute to get back into the lead.
The goal was scored by Tyler Kennedy from a brilliant flick-shot. This was the final goal of the game and the Penguins managed to win 3-2 in the end and lead the series 2-1.
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