1/2/15

Downie Scores Two Goals in Return to Lineup

The Pittsburgh Penguins faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Consolo Energy Center tonight. Thomas Greiss got the start in goal for the Penguins and Ben Bishop got the nod for the Lightning. At 1:36 of the first period, Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman was assessed a two-minute tripping penalty to put the Penguins on a power play. The Penguins took advantage when Chris Kunitz tipped the puck past Bishop at 1:56 to give the Penguins an early 1-0 lead. The Penguins expanded their lead when birthday boy Andrew Ebbett collected the rebound after Evgeni Malkin's shot hit the goalpost and he lifted a backhander past Bishop to make the score 2-0. Evgeni Malkin increased the Penguins' lead to 3-0 when he shot the puck past Bishop's leg pad at 13:39. Bishop was lifted from the game in favor of Evgeni Nabokov. The Lightning cut the Penguins' lead to 3-1 when Brian Boyle scored at 15:11. The Lightning got a power play opportunity when Penguins' defenseman Christian Ehrhoff was called for a two-minute cross checking penalty at 19:43. The Lightning were not able to score in the final 17 seconds of the period. After one period of play, the Penguins led 3-1. The Lightning looked to cut the Penguins' lead at the start of the second period. They were unable to cash in on the remaining time on the power play. The Lightning were given another power play opportunity at 7:39 when Ehrhoff was assessed a two-minute holding penalty. The Lightning were again unable to cash in on the man-advantage. The Lightning cut the Penguins' lead to 3-2 when Victor Hedman shot the puck behind the net which ricocheted off of Greiss' glove and into the net at 12:48. The Penguins were given a power play opportunity at 14:59 when Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr was given a two-minute cross checking penalty. The Penguins were unable to score on the power play, but eight seconds after the penalty expired, Christian Ehrhoff fired a slap shot past Nabokov to expand the Penguins' lead to 4-2. With two periods of hockey in the books, the Penguins held a 4-2 lead. The third period held no scoring until a little over half way through the period. At 11:18, Lightning forward Ondrej Palat fired a shot past Greiss to cut the Penguins' lead to 4-3. Shortly after Palat's goal, Penguins' forward Steve Downie fired a shot that hit the lower crossbar and entered the net past Nabokov to increase the Penguins' lead to 5-3. With an empty net, Kris Letang led a charge into the Lightning zone. He proceeded to pass the puck to Steve Downie, who shot the puck into the gaping cage at 19:55 to seal the Penguins' 6-3 win over the Lightning.