Penguins at Lightning - Game 6 - 04-25-11

-No lineup changes for either team from Game 5.

-The Penguins' starters are Tyler Kennedy, James Neal, Jordan Staal, Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek and Marc-Andre Fleury.

-Their scratches are Mike Comrie, Matt Cooke, Deryk Engelland, Eric Godard, Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi.

-The Lightning's starters are Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, Eric Brewer, Mattias Ohlund and Dwayne Roloson.

-Its scratches are Blair Jones, Randy Jones, Mattias Ritola, Matt Smaby, Dustin Tokarski and Dana Tyrell.

-The Lightning have someone named Paulie Z sing the anthem. He stole his hair from Lightning back up goaltender Mike Smith:

FIRST PERIOD

18:24: Chris Conner races up the right wing after a loose puck. He recovers it at the Tampa Bay Blue line and tries to race by Marc-Andre Bergeron. Bergeron stays with him step for step and pokes the puck away. Nice defensive play.

17:41: Mark Letestu puts the Penguins' first shot on net. Roloson gloves it.

17:07: Craig Adams grips and rips a wrister from the right circle wide to the far side.

16:10: Kris Letang coasts into the offensive zone, gains the blue line and releases a wrister from the top of the slot. Roloson gloves it easily.

13:01: After a stagnant three minutes, Kennedy works his way up the right wing and tosses a wrister at  net from outside the right circle. Roloson fights it off.

11:37: The Lightning make the first mistake and the Penguins cash in. Roloson fumbles a dump-in behind the net. Maxime Talbot races back there steal a bad pass to Bergeron. Talbot is able to shuffle a backhanded pass to Dupuis above the crease. Just as he get dumped to the ice, Dupuis chops it on net and beats Roloson. Put that one on Roloson. Talbot gets the only assist. Penguins 1-0.

10:30: Kovalev is nabbed for hooking Dominic Moore at the Tampa Bay blue line. Brooks Orpik, Michalek, Jordan Staal and Dupuis take the ice.

10:22: Brewer rips a wrister on net from the point. Fleury gloves it.

9:42: Brewer chops a slapper from the right point. Adams challenges and blocks the shot.

9:22: Adams slides down blockas another shot by Brewer from the right half wall.

9:04: Brewer grips and rips a wrister on net from the right circle. Fleury eats it up.

8:30: Kovalev's minor is killed. Solid effort by the Penguins' penalty killers. They needed that after getting torched in Game 5.

7:36: Nate Thompson flips a pass to the St. Louis on the right wing. St. Louis races in behind the defense and tries to jam one by Fleury. Fleury holds it out as the rest of the Lightning's forwards crash in.

6:15: Thompson turns and rips a wrister on net from the left circle. Fleury eats it up despite having Steve Downie hovering around. Downie trips up Michalek after the whistle. No call.

5:50: Staal (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) flattens Mattias Ohlund (6-foot-4, 229 pounds) in the right wing corner of the Lightning's zone. Ohlund is on the ice in a heap. He eventually recovers to his skates and makes his way to the bench.

5:32: Letang and Malone get tangled up in the neutral zone. Malone goes down without much of a challenge. Letang is sent off for interference. Staal, Michalek, Orpik and Adams take the ice.

4:12: St. Louis has a chance in the slot but Oprik is able to poke check the puck away.

3:39: Pavel Kubina cuts through the Penguins defense and release a wrister from the slot wide to the right of the cage.

3:32: Letang's minor is killed.

3:24: Kubina has a chance in the right circle. He deals a shot/pass towards the left circle. It hits a skate and comes to Teddy Purcell. Fleury is out of position and dives to deny his first shot. With Fleury and Michalek sprawling in the crease, Purcell gets his rebound back and flips it over a helpless Fleury. Fleury overplayed the initial shot/pass by Kubina and put himself out of position for the chance by Purcell. Malone and Kubina get assists. Lightning 1, Penguins 1.

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1:25: Brewer cracks a one-timer from the right point. Fleury fights it off despite traffic.

1:04: Kennedy plays a puck from below the goal line to the left circle. Neal chops it at the cage. Roloson fights it off. Officials blow play dead as Neal and Staal battle for the rebound. A scrum develops with Neal, Staal, Malone and Brewer in the middle of it.

0:42: Bergenheim puts a wrister on net from the left wing. Fleury gloves it.

0:24: Kennedy has a chance in tight but Roloson eats it up.

0:00: End of period. Lightning 1, Penguins 1.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-That was a pretty up and down period. The Penguins were the better team in the first 10 minutes. The Lightning controlled the second 10 minutes.

-Both goals were the results of poor play by the goaltenders. Roloson made a bad pass which Talbot stole and dealt to Dupuis for his goal. And Fleury just overplayed a possession by Kubina and was out of position for a shot by Purcell.

-If nothing else, the Penguins build up a little confidence for the penalty kill. It was torched in Game 5. SO far, it's 2 for 2 tonight.

-The Lightning has a 9-7 lead in shots.

-Brewer leads the game with three.

-Kennedy and Letang each lead the Penguins with two.

-The Lightning has a 12-10 edge in faceoffs (55 percent).

-Steven Stamkos and former Penguin Adam Hall are each 3 for 3 (70 percent).

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Adams leads the game with three blocked shots.

-Ohlund and Clark each lead the Lightning with two blocked shots.

-Staal is 7 for 10 (70 percent).

SECOND PERIOD

19:28: Neal pushes a puck through the neutral zone and dumps it int the Lightning zone at the blue line. Ohlund tries to stand him up and ends up putting his stick in Neal's face. That's two minutes. Neal, Letangm, Michalek, Kovalev and Staal take the ice.

17:28: And two minutes later, the Penguins accomplished nothing with that chance.

17:10: Conner has a chance in the slot blocked by Victor Hedman's stick.

16:43: Conner pushes the puck up the left wing one-on-one with Kubina. He snaps off a stirckly shot which Roloson kicks out.

16:10: Gagne fires a a wrister on net from the right point. Fleury punches it away.

15:53: Lundin chucks a wrister from the left point. Fleury eats it up.

15:28: Orpik absolutely levels a Lightning forward behind the Penguins' cage with a shoulder on shoulder check. Oof.

14:16: The Penguins get outworked in their own zone and the Lightning makes them pay. Moore recovers a loose puck behind the net and makes a sneaky backhanded pass to Bergenheim along the goal line to the right of the cage. Fleury looses track of the puck and leaves the cage wide open. Bergenheim punches it by his left leg. The Ben Lovejoy-Matt Niskanen pairing was on the ice for that goal. Moore and Downie get assists. Lightning 2-1.

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13:28: Off a faceoff in the neutral zone, Bergenheim is called for high sticking Conner. That was kind of a ticky tack call.

13:14: Thompson pushes a puck up the left wing and releases a wrister on net. Fleury fights it off.

13:08: Staal hustles up the left wing and puts a wrister on net from a tough angle. Roloson kicks it out.

12:55: Neal releases a wrister from the left circle. Roloson fight sit off despite traffic.

11:39: Kennedy releases a wrister from the left circle. Roloson kick it ot the left corner.

11:28: The Bergenheim minor is killed. The Penguins puts some pressure on net there.

10:50: On a line change by the Lightning. Dupuis taps a pass up the ice to Conner who is off on a breakaway. Conner races his way up net. Kubina dives and knocks Kubina's skates out. Conners slides into Roloson and dislodges the cage. Officials call a penalty shot. Conner races in and as he makes a move at the hash marks, he loses the puck. The puck actually maintains a forward motion. Conner recovers it and slaps it on net. Roloson kicks it out. Ugh. That was ugly.

10:21: Neal pushes the puck up the right wing and is held up by Ohlund. Neal kind of jerks back to sell it. Two minutes for Ohlund. Kennedy, Letang, Michalek, Chris Kunitz and Letestu take the ice.

10:11: Kennedy snaps off a wrister from the right circle. Roloson knocks it dead and covers to freeze play.

9:15: Letang lugs the puck up ice and is booed the entire way. Weird.

8:46: Kovalev coasts up the left wing and cleas a pass to the slot. Staal is there and guns a one-timer on net. Roloson is square to the shot and kicks it out.

7:20: Kubina picks up a loose puck on the right half wall and guns a one-timer wide to the far side.

5:38: Kennedy snaps off a wrister from the right circle. Roloson eats it up.

4:21: Kunitz hooks up Purcell in the Lightning' zone. That's two minutes. Adams, Orpik, Michalek and Dupuis take the ice.

3:41: Vincent Lecavalier blasts a shot from the right point wide to the far side.

3:34: Craig Adams drops to his knees and blocks a rocket of a one-timer by Stamkos in the right circle.

2:41: Dupuis pushes the puck up the ice on the right wing and croses into the slot shorthanded. Malone comes back on a back check and clobbers Dupuis in with what appears to be a shoulder on shoulder check. Officials call Malone for elbowing. Huh? Four on four for 20 seconds

2:21: The Kunitz minor comes to an end. The Penguins will have a power play for 1:40.

1:47: Kennedy takes a pass on the left half wall, moves into the left circle and snaps off a wrister. It hits a body and deflects out of play.

0:41: Malone's penalty is killed.

0:39: From the left circle, Kennedy deals a pass to Kunitz in the slot. Kuntiz guns a one-timer. Roloson kicks it out.

0:00: End of period. Lightning 2, Penguins 1.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-That was rough to watch. It was just a grind it out defensive battle. If not for a slick play by Dominic Moore, this is still a 1-1 game.

-Speaking of the devils, this Bergenheim-Moore-Downie line has tormented the Penguins this game. They're controlling play down low and causing all kinds of havoc below the Penguins' goal line.

-News Flash: The Penguins' power play isn't very good.

-Shots are tied, 16-16.

-Kennedy leads the game with five.

-Brewer leads the Lightning with three.

-The Lightning control faceoffs, 26-18 (59 percent).

-Hall is 5 for 6  (83 percent).

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Letestu is 4 for 7 (57 percent).

-Adams, Brewer and Thompson each lead the game with two.

THIRD PERIOD

18:41: Talbot tracks down a loose puck in the left circle, turns and whips a wrister at the cage. Roloson fights it off.

18:05: Kovalev gets with a bit of a trip on Kubina in the left wing corner of the offensive zone.

17:35: The Lightning is playing like there's five minutes left in the game. Its players are just dumping it into the defensive zone at the Penguins' blue line and changing.

17:17: Adams runs over Moore in right wing corner of the Lightning's zone.

16:12: And Jordan Staal lets everyone in Pittsburgh breathe a little easier. He knocks Moore off a puck on the left wing wall of the Penguins zone. It ends up on Niskanen's stick. Niskanen deals it back to Staal in the left circle. Staal grips and rips a wrister which beats Roloson over his blocker side shoulder. Neal was in front on a nice screen. Niskanen and Kennedy each get assists. Lightning 2, Penguin 2.

15:34: Talbot thas a chance on a mini breakaway. He moves in on net and is denied twice by Roloson in tight, first on a backhand and the second on a forehand. Dupuis jumps on a second the rebound and his forehand shot is kicked out by Roloson's right leg. Clutch, clutch saves by Roloson!

15:05: The Lightning responde immediatley Lecavalier deals a pass from the left point down low to Downie. Downie controls the puck just above the crease and is able to sneaks it under Fleury. What a play by Downie. Michalek was out of position on that badly.  Lecavalier and Gagne get assists. Lightning 3-2.

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14:34: Stamkos has a chance in tight denied by Fleury's left leg. Malone thumps Letestu on top of Fleury. Play is blown dead. Orpik and Stamkos get tangled up. Malone goes after Orpik. All heck breaks loose. Kunitz and Kovalev jump in. Kunitz and Hedman get roughing minors. Malone gets two minutes for goaltenders interference. Rupp, Letestu, Kennedy, Letang and Orpik take the ice.

14:30: Off a faceoff win, Michalek booms a slapper from the top of the slot. It misses wide to the left side and deflect to the left of the crease. Rupp is there and chops the rebound at the cage. Roloson's right leg kicks it out.

13:56: Rupp movtors up the left wing and snaps off a wrister which Roloson just gets a piece of.

13:18: Letang chops a slapper from the top of the slot. It hits a body in front.

12:34: Hedman returns to play. Another wasted opportunity.

11:47: Conner snaps off a wrister from the right wing. Roloson eats it up.

11:20: Niskanen pounds a slapper from the left point. It hits a body in front.

11:13: Dupuis fires a slapper from the right point. Brett Clark blocks it.

10:26: Ugh... wow. Letang tries to chip in a a puck on the left wing from the neutral zone. It takes a funny hop off the glass in the left wing corner. and deflects to the right circle. Ohlund recovers the puck and chips it down ice to Malone who gets behind Orpik. Malone coasts in on net and chops a slapper by Fleury's glove hand. It clacks off the right post and into the net. Stunning. Fire Ray Shero. Ohlund gets the only assist. Lightning 4-2.

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9:10: "Flerrrrrrr........Eeeeeeee.......Flerrrrrrr........Eeeeeeee......."

6:25: After a stagnant three minutes, Kennedy chucks a wrister on net from the right wing. Roloson kicks it out.

5:48: Letestu steals a puck and controls it on the right wing. He attempts a cross ice pass to Neal in the right circle but Gagne makes a wonderful back check and knocks the puck away.

5:35: Michalek chops a slapper from the right point. Roloson gloves it and freezes play.

5:01: Dupuis whips a wrister at the cage from a tough angle on the right wing. Roloson holds it out.

4:53: Letang drags a puck into the slot, looks up and chops a slapper at the cage. It rings off the post.

1:55: Downie chips the puck down ice from his blue line to kill time.

1:26: St. Louis pushes the puck up the right wing and eats the puck in the corner.

1:10: Fleury is pulled for an extra attacker.

1:01: Niskanen chops a slapper from the left point. Roloson fights it off.

0:49: Kennedy whips a wrister from the left wing on a poor angle. Roloson holds it out.

0:30: From the neutral zone. Malone chips a puck down ice at the empty cage. Martin kneels down and blocks it in the slot.

0:00: End of game. Lightning 4, Penguins 2.

POSTGAME

-If there was a sequence which was the difference in this game and also defined it, it took place early in the third. Maxime Talbot had a breakaway. Combined with Pascal Dupuis, they had three chances to take a lead. But they couldn't beat Dwayne Roloson. Less than 30 seconds later, Steve Downie has a similar chance in tight and he buries it on one shot.

-We're not going to blame Fleury for this loss, but let's face facts. He was the second best goaltender in this game. Roloson stole goals. Fleury didnt.

-The weird things about this game is that the Lightning didn't really get a lot of offense from their stars. For the most part, Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis were kept in check. The Lightning got its offense from its meat and potato grinders like Downie, Dominic Moore and Ryan Malone if you want to label him as such.

-The Lightning played desperate. The Penguins played like they knew they had a safety net in the form of a Game 7 Wednesday.

-It has become fashionable to point out every goal the pairing of Matt Niskanen and Ben Lovejoy give up any time they're on the ice. But all three pairings managed to allow a goal tonight.

-If there's anything to be happy with in regards to this loss its that the beleaguered penalty kill pitched a shutout after getting torched in Game 5.

-The power play just doesn't exist. We really can't offer much more than that.

-The line of Moore, Downie and Sean Bergenheim was just a terror. It was the best game of the line. It controlled play down low. It got physical with the Penguins' blue line. And it even contributed a little offense.

-The Penguins led in shots, 29-21.

-Kennedy led the game with six.

-Brewer and Stamkos each led the Lightning with three.

-Letang led the game with 27:50 of ice time.

-Brewer led the Lightning with 25:51.

-The Lightning dominated faceoffs, 35-23 (60 percent).

-Hall was 6 for 7 (86 percent).

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Staal was 11 for 23 (48 percent).

-Clark and Brewer each led the game with six blocked shots.

-Adams led the Penguins with four.

-The Lightning blocked 26 shots. The Penguins had 13.

-Niskanen recorded his first career postseason point for the Penguins.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.