The Lightning showed why it's imperative to keep them off of the power play. Their four goals (4-for-6) on the man advantage turned a comfortable lead into a humiliating one.
Comparatively, the Penguins' power play was inept once again. The power play unit was given plenty of opportunities in the 1st and 2nd periods to get back into the game, but, in finishing 0-for-6, squandered each of them.
This was also a prime example of why the 'shots on goal' statistic can be a meaningless one. The Penguins held a comfortable lead in shots, but all of Tampa Bay's goals came off of prime scoring opportunities, whether they were on rebounds or crisp passing combinations.
Steven Stamkos and Simon Gagne looked great when the game was still in question. The Penguins had done a great job nullifying Stamkos until today, and it was one of the main reasons Pittsburgh jumped out to a 3-1 series lead.
Don't bother blaming the loss on any individual players. This was a collective bed-wetting.
It was also just one game. As the Penguins showed in Game 3, they're more than capable of rebounding from a nasty defeat.
Any notion that the Penguins could mount a comeback against the Lightning were quickly dashed in the 2nd period as Tampa Bay scored three more goals, increasing their lead to 5-0.
A feisty Vincent Lecavalier got on the board early for the Lightning, scoring a 1:55 into the period to increase the visitors’ lead to 3-0. Simon Gagne bagged his second a little bit later, finally chasing Marc-Andre Fleury from the net and leading to Brent Johnson’s introduction.
But things didn’t fare much better for Johnson, who gave up another goal, Stamkos’ second, just over a minute after his introduction.
Adding to the Penguins’ misery is their 0-for-5 performance on the man advantage on thus far.
With the game all but over, the Penguins will need to focus on damage control in the 3rd period and, at least, try to slow the Lightning’s momentum before the trip back to Florida for Game 6.
The Tampa Bay Lightning scored two quick goals near the end of the 1st period to take a 2-0 lead in their Game 5 contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins dictated proceedings throughout most of the period before Simon Gagne opened the Lightning’s account. With about 3:03 remaining, the Canadian sniper finished off a slick passing sequence with a hard-angled, one-timed shot that Marc-Andre Fleury could do little about.
Moments later, Steven Stamkos emerged from anonymity to put a rebound past Fleury, increasing the Lightning’s lead to 2-0.
Brooks Orpik came closest to scoring for the Penguins with just under seven minutes to go in the period, letting loose a slapshot from the point that found it’s way through traffic before ringing off of Dwayne Roloson’s post.
The Penguins outshot the Lightning 13-8 in the period. They’ll have a chance to pull a goal back early as they carry a 1:27 in power play time into the 2nd period off of a roughing call on Vincent Lecavalier.
The Penguins look to put away the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of their NHL Playoff series. The Pens lead the series 3-1, and are heading home to Pittsburgh for Saturday's game, which starts at noon.
With a 3-1 lead, the Pens certainly have a cushion here. But they won't want to allow the Lightning to force a Game 6. A Game 6 would mean a return to Florida, and the Pens won't want to give the Lightning a chance to tie the series with a win at home.
