Pittsburgh Penguins wins 3-0 in the playoff opener on home ice
The playoffs finally inaugurated with the Pittsburgh Penguins playing host to the Tampa Bay Lightning this Wednesday, at the Consol Energy Center, in what was the first game of the first round series encounter that the Penguins won 3-0.
The game commenced with both teams making a decent start in terms of shots on goal but were unable to find the back of the net. The second period saw the Penguins throwing down the hammer attempting shots every now and then. There were several scoring opportunities
for the Penguins as they enjoyed much of the possession. However, the absence of goals persisted and the game went into the final period wide open. Both teams were pretty much equal in terms of play construction, until the Penguins were victorious in scoring
three goals to win the game 3-0 in the end. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins’ goalkeeper was named the star of the game as he made 32 saves during the game.
The start boasted Lightning quick on the fast breaks and bagging a few shots on goal early on. Interestingly, they were unable to find the back of the net with the same consistency. The period saw several scoring chances crop up for both teams, but unfortunately
no goals were scored during the first 20 minutes of play.
The period ended with the scores level on 0-0 with the Penguins making 10 shots on goal, while the Lightning attempted 14 shots on goal.
The second period kicked off with the Lightning firing a few shots on goal after which the home team was on top of the game. Not only did they construct some fabulous plays, but with the quick and pin point passing left their opponents stunned.
The Penguins bombarded shots on goal and maintained a very tight backline, allowing little opportunity to the Lightning. Unfortunately, like the first period there were no goals, and the teams were still deadlocked on 0-0 as the period came to end. The Penguins
made 18 shots on goal during the period while the Lightning made 7 shots on goal.
The final 20 minutes of play kicked off with the Penguins coming up with early shots and were seemingly better of the two teams. They capitalised from the start and scored in the seventh minute through Alex Kovalev to get into the lead.
The Penguins continued to press forward and scored once again in the same minute to double their advantage with Arron Asham scoring the goal. The Lightning was able to come up with a few shots on goal, but could not score and the game ended with the Penguins
scoring once again in the final minute through Chris Kunitz, to win the game 3-0 in the end.
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