Lightning 5 - 1 Penguins
Final
  for this game

Lightning try to even series with Pens in Game 2

Apr 15, 2011 - 3:08 PM (Sports Network) - After getting shut out in the opener, the Tampa Bay Lightning will try to even their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight for Game 2 at CONSOL Energy Center.

The fifth-seeded Lightning were blanked in Wednesday's opener, as Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves to anchor Pittsburgh's 3-0 victory. The game was tied at 0-0 heading into the third period, but Alex Kovalev and Arron Asham scored 18 seconds apart in the final stanza to help Pittsburgh gain the 1-0 series' advantage.

Fleury, the East's only starting goaltender to have won a Stanley Cup, made 14 of his 32 saves in the first period for the Penguins. He stopped seven shots in the second and 11 more in the third to record the fifth postseason shutout of his career.

"Fleury made some good saves," said Lightning center Steven Stamkos. "It seemed like we were one or two feet from the rebound every time, we just weren't in the exact position to convert."

Pittsburgh is the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference for the third consecutive season and narrowly missed out on the Atlantic Division crown, challenging Philadelphia until the final weekend, despite losing Sidney Crosby (concussion) and Evgeni Malkin (knee) to injury for most of the second half.

Crosby continues to practice with the team, but has not been cleared for contact and will miss tonight's game. Malkin, meanwhile, underwent season- ending surgery in February.

In-season acquisition Dwayne Roloson stopped 37 shots for Tampa Bay, which -- under first-year general manager Steve Yzerman and rookie head coach Guy Boucher -- is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Kovalev broke the scoreless tie at the 6:05 mark of the third. Lightning defenseman Pavel Kubina gloved the puck around the boards, but Pittsburgh rearguard Paul Martin stepped up to keep it in the Tampa Bay zone. James Neal collected the disc at the left point and made a slap-pass to an uncovered Kovalev, who converted the feed from below the right circle.

Moments later, Asham, celebrating his 33rd birthday, faked a slap shot and circled behind the Tampa Bay net before scoring on a wraparound after his initial shot was blocked by a Lightning defender.

"[Kovalev's goal] gave us a big confidence boost," Asham said. "Then I got a lucky one right after that. We're not getting ahead of ourselves. We're sticking with our game plan."

Chris Kunitz added an empty-net goal with 42 seconds left to account for the 3-0 margin.

With the loss, Tampa Bay fell to 0-5 all-time in the opening game of a playoff series on the road.

The Penguins had a 25-14-2 record in their first year at CONSOL Energy Center, while Tampa Bay was 21-14-6 as the visiting team this season.

This series will shift to Tampa for Games 3 and 4 with the Lightning hosting the next meeting Monday at St. Pete Times Forum.

Pittsburgh and the Bolts split four meetings this season and this playoff series marks the first-ever postseason matchup between these clubs.






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