Penguins Lose Power, Zapped by Lightning, 6-3
It was evident from the outset of last night’s Eastern Conference tilt with the Lightning our Penguins didn’t have their A-game. Perfectly understandable in the wake of their inspired, not to mention emotionally charged, victories over the Islanders and Red Wings earlier this week.
There’s only so much juice in a battery.
Yet despite the odds being stacked against us, to say nothing of the quality of opponent, the Pens clawed their way to a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes on goals by piping hot Rickard Rakell and Egor Chinakhov.
For a brief moment, I had dreams of snagging a point or two dancing in my head.
Then Anthony Cirelli picked Erik Karlsson’s pocket at the far blue line before racing up ice and beating Stuart Skinner on a shorthanded breakaway to open the second period. In the process irretrievably shifting the momentum in favor of the Bolts.
Brayden Point and ex-Sabre Zemgus Girgensons tacked on second-period tallies, followed by third-period markers by Nikita Kucherov and Cirelli to turn the game into a rout.