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Bolts try to stay alive in Game 6 vs. Penguins

Apr 25, 2011 - 2:55 PM (Sports Network) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to build off a blowout victory and stave off elimination for a second time when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at St. Pete Times Forum in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

The fourth-seeded Penguins had a chance to end the series Saturday afternoon on home ice, but the Lightning destroyed Pittsburgh by an 8-2 score to cut the series deficit to 3-2. If Tampa is able to post another win tonight, then the Bolts and Pens will square off Wednesday in a decisive Game 7 at CONSOL Energy Center.

Simon Gagne, Steven Stamkos and Pavel Kubina each scored twice to help the Lightning post the easy win.

Stamkos added an assist for a three-point game and Vincent Lecavalier picked up a goal and an assist for the Lightning. Stamkos, who had 45 goals and 91 points in the regular season, had just one assist in the first four games of his playoff career before breaking out on Saturday.

"It was a big game, and the biggest game of my career," said Stamkos, who netted his first career playoff goals. "We played with that urgency. We had some big goals early and got the lead. We were able to jump on them early."

Dwayne Roloson carried a shutout into the third period and finished with 31 saves for the fifth-seeded Lightning.

Mike Rupp and Chris Conner scored for Pittsburgh, but only after Tampa Bay had already built a 7-0 lead in the third period. Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled from the Penguins net after allowing the first four goals on 14 shots in a little over a period of work.

Pittsburgh has yet to clinch a playoff series at home under head coach Dan Bylsma, winning each of its last five series-clinchers on the road. The Pens are 5-1 in their last six chances to close out a series on the road,

"It was a tough loss, but it's the playoffs and it's a race to four games," said Pittsburgh's Jordan Staal. "The last one's always the toughest and we have to come up with a better effort if we want to win that fourth game."

The Penguins are also 8-1 all-time when leading a series three-games-to-one. The only loss was in the 1975 quarterfinals, when Pittsburgh blew a 3-0 series lead to the New York Islanders.

Tampa Bay has never come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series, but the Bolts made a nice first step towards achieving that goal with Saturday's lopsided victory.

The Lightning got defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron back from an undisclosed injury on Saturday, but fellow blueliners Randy Jones (left ankle) and Matt Smaby (lower body) are still questionable for today's game.

Of course, Pittsburgh is still playing without captain Sidney Crosby due to a concussion. Crosby continues to practice with the team, but he has not been cleared for contact and will miss today's game.

Tampa had a solid 25-11-5 record as the host this year, while Pittsburgh was 24-11-6 as the visiting team.

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