Penguins 1 - Lightning 5: Zapped!

Ouch!!

Well, it's been quite awhile since the Penguins have been spanked like a cranky 2-year old who won't stop whining for an ice cream cone.

5-1 Lightning in a lopsided affair, in which Crosby finished with 1 assist and -2 in 23:04 ice time.

I'll let the game recap do the talking...

The Tampa Bay Lightning responded quickly to a one-sided loss.

Brad Richards had a goal and three assists, Martin St. Louis matched a career-high with his 38th goal and Vincent Lecavalier added his 41st, leading the Southeast Division-leading Lightning past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Sunday night.

The Lightning, beaten 6-2 by Boston on Friday, have not dropped consecutive games since Dec. 26-28. Tampa Bay is 17-4-1 in the last 22 contests.

"That's what I'm happy about tonight, it was a good answer," Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella. "You don't put yourself into a jam having a couple of them. I thought we played right on through a pretty solid game, especially away from the puck. Getting better away from the puck transforms into offense."

Paul Ranger and Filip Kuba also scored for the Lightning, who have a 12-game winning streak against Pittsburgh. Tortorella earned his 200th victory with the Lightning.


Richards has helped set up 12 goals during an eight-game assist streak. His goal 1:31 into the third gave Tampa Bay a 4-1 lead.

"That was the biggest thing going into today, I think we all kind of knew we better come up with a good effort and get a good start," Richards said. "We haven't lost two in a row in a long time. That's been good for this team."

Lecavalier's short-handed goal later in the third moved him within one of tying Brain Bradley's team record, set during the 1992-93 season.

Sergei Gonchar scored for the Penguins, who lost for only the fourth time in 19 games.

"We're a team that's supposed to care," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "It's a great opportunity for us to see who wants to bounce back."

...

"It's tough," Crosby said. "They just seemed to carry the play, especially in the first. They took it to us. We have on move. We have a lot of games to play."

Crosby's goal woes continue, as he now has just 1 goal in his last 13 games. Fortunately, he also has 18 assists over that same stretch.