If the players around Evgeni Malkin continue to heat up over the final stretch of the season, the rest of the league could be in big trouble.
Evgeni Malkin scored two goals, Kris Letang and Chris Kunitz added one a piece, and James Neal tallied three assists as the Penguins defeated the Lighting 4-2 Sunday night.
Pittsburgh had another slow start, allowing the Lightning to score two goals in the opening half of the first period. Steve Downie’s slapshot deflected off of Paul Martin’s stick and caught backup goalie, Brent Johnson, off guard. Eleven seconds later, Downie tipped in a centering pass from Teddy Purcell to put the Lightning up 2-0, ten minutes into the game.
For the rest of the game, it was all about Pittsburgh’s top line as they dominated large portions of the game. Malkin drew a holding penalty against Steven Stamkos with under 5 minutes remaining in the first. Kris Letang took the drop pass from James Neal, skated towards the net at the top of the face off circles, and fed Evgeni Malkin for a perfect one-timer slapshot. The crowd erupted as the puck blistered the top of the net and the Penguins were off and running.
The Penguins registered 8 shots in the first period and 33 for the final two as they swarmed Tampa Bay who, despite their record in the standings, came into the matchup 7-2-1 in their last ten games. Malkin, Neal and Kunitz combined for 13 of Pittsburgh’s 41 shots while producing dazzling goals in the process.
Chris Kunitz wasted no time in the second period. Just 56 seconds in, Kunitz scored his 16th goal of the season, going end to end before fooling his former Stanley Cup teammate, Mathieu Garon. Kunitz’s goal tied the game; his one touch pass to Kris Letang gave the Penguins the lead.
The unheralded forward on Malkin’s line was not done.
Midway through the second, Kunitz dished an alley-oop to Malkin who slammed the puck into the net for his second goal of the game and eighth point of the weekend. Kunitz, himself, finished with 7 points.
The game capped off a wild weekend of scoring after the Penguins put up 8 goals against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon in which Evgeni Malkin extended his lead for the scoring title with five points.
Of all the Penguins, Brent Johnson may have been the happiest. After allowing two quick goals, Johnson stopped the next 20 shots to secure his first win since December 3rd against the Carolina Hurricanes. After being chased in back to back starts against the Ottawa Senators over a month ago, Johnson has rebounded nicely, allowing just four goals in the last three games.
- The Penguins are off until Wednesday when they host the Anaheim Ducks.
- With the Flyers losing, the Penguins now move into a tie for fourth in the Eastern Conference with Philadelphia.
- The Penguins are 7-2-1 since Kris Letang returned from his concussion on January 19th.
Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports
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