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Game 5: Tampa Bay Lightning versus Pittsburgh Penguins

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 5-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,204 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum Saturday night, ending a three-game winning streak in the process.

“I don’t think anyone can watch the game and sit here and say they outplayed us. I thought it was a heck of a hockey game.” – Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

It’s always a good idea to get to a hockey game on time and not leave early. For instance, if you were just four seconds late tonight, you missed Craig Adams of Pittsburgh and the Lightning’s Ryan Malone dropping the gloves on the initial faceoff (with Malone definitely getting the better in the exchange), That was followed immediately by the Penguins’ Chuck Kobasew incurring a hooking penalty at :27. The Lightning didn’t convert on that power play (or the three that followed) but a tone seemed to be set, in that five of the nine goals scored between the two teams, including the last three, came on the power play.

“We’ve got a young team and this is a team sport. Guys take penalties, and do I like the penalties that were taken tonight? Absolutely not. Is it unacceptable? It is. In saying that, if we kill one of those off, we’re still playing right now.” – Cooper

Valtteri Filppula got the Bolts on the board first, scoring his fourth goal of the season at 13:25 on assists from Alex Killorn and Richard Panik.

The Lightning took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

The second period would be a see-saw battle. At 2:14 of the second, the Penguins tied the score at one when Sidney Crosby scored a power play goal thanks to assists from Jussi Jokinen and Chris Kunitz.

The Lightning regained the lead at 5:11 with Steven Stamkos scoring on helpers from Martin St. Louis and Victor Hedman.

Less than two minutes later, the game was tied again, thanks to Brooks Orpick’s goal at the 7:04 mark. He was assisted by Pascal Dupuis and Kunitz.

At 15:42, it was the Lightning’s turn to cash in on the power play, with Teddy Purcell doing the honors, getting assists from Sami Salo and St. Louis.

The second ended with the Bolts up 3-2.

The Penguins wasted litle time in the third tying it up again, with Crosby scoring at :25 on assists from Rob Scuderi and Matt Niskanen.

Pittsburgh took the lead for the first time at 10:26 with Crosby completing the hat trick with a power play goal, receiving assistance from Jokinen and Malkin.

Tasked with coming behind, the Bolts responded with a power play goal of their own from Killorn on assists from Panik and Tyler Johnson at 16:58.

And if you left 19 seconds early, you missed the deciding goal, which was scored by Niskanen on yet another power play, this time on assists from Malkin and Crosby.

The Lightning will continue their current home stand when they host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

Game notes:

  • The Lightning haven’t beaten Pittsburgh since November 17, 2011.
  • Purcell and St. Louis both extended their current scoring streaks to four games.
  • The Bolts power play scoring streak is also currently at four games, converting on six of 14 opportunities (42.8%)
  • Filppula has scored in every game this season, registering four goals and an assist plus a shootout-winning goal.
  • Starting goaltender Anders Lindback, seeing his first action since the season opener in Boston, made 21 stops on 26 shots.
  • This was the eighth hat trick of Crosby’s career.
  • The Lightning honored Al Couture as the second Lightning Community Hero of the year during the first period of tonight’s game. Couture, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to West Pasco Habitat for Humanity. Couture is the kind of person who sees a need and then figures out a way to fulfill it. At the age of 82, Couture volunteers more than 25 hours a week at his local Habitat for Humanity and also cooks for residents at a local hospice house. Couture came to Habitat for Humanity 20 years ago after retiring from the Navy shipyard after seeing how much need there was in his community. Facing personal challenges while he was growing up, Couture got assitance from his community to help him land on his feet. Since being retired, Couture has decided to return the favor with countless hours of service to his community in many different ways, including serving as president for the Habitat for Humanity in West Pasco. Couture’s personal experiences give him a special connection to people in need, whether it’s a broken family, a hospice patient or a stressed caregiver./
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