PITTSBURGH -- When the Pittsburgh Penguins last convened, it was New Year's Eve, so it didn't surprise them that they were a little rusty Sunday.

It probably shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone else that the rust fell away pretty quickly.

"As the game went along, I think we all felt better," said Sidney Crosby, who had two assists while six of his teammates scored goals in a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh's fifth victory in a row.

"I think we got more comfortable. We knew they were going to have a bit of a push, but we just stayed patient and waited for our chances."

A 1-0 Lightning lead faded quickly as the Penguins (26-8-5) scored four unanswered goals, then added a couple more and racked up 40 shots against Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who started for the third time in four days. Vasilevskiy made 34 saves.

Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury had 38 saves to improve to 7-0-1 in his past eight decisions.

"We found a rhythm late in the game," said Chris Kunitz, who notched one of Pittsburgh's goals, giving him 164 with the Penguins and tying him with Ron Francis for 10th in team history.

"There weren't a lot of pretty goals, but pucks got through (Vasilevskiy), guys were going to the net and we found a way to win."

Tampa Bay (19-19-4) lost its fourth in a row.

"It's always tough being in stretches like this," the Lightning's Anton Stralman said. "This whole season has been very much up and down, but what are you going to do? We can't give up. There's half a season left to play."

The first period was scoreless, although Pittsburgh came on late to finish the period with a 15-10 edge in shots.

"We were a little bit rusty passing the puck sometimes, but I really liked our compete level," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "Our guys were ready from a mindset standpoint. I thought we got better as the game went along."

Jonathan Drouin opened the scoring for Tampa Bay at 2:19 of the second period when he one-timed a rebound from the lower portion of the right circle.

The Penguins (26-8-5) began their comeback when Conor Sheary, at 6:44, and Eric Fehr, at 11:14, scored for a 2-1 lead going into the third period.

Pittsburgh, which improved to 14-0-0 when leading after two periods, poured it on with goals by Kunitz from the slot at 2:33 of the third period and Scott Wilson on a backhander at 3:28.

Vladislav Namestnikov pulled the Lightning within 4-2 at 5:40 on a power play, but Phil Kessel scored on a rebound at 7:50 for a 5-2 Penguins lead. Finally, Kris Letang's power-play goal made it 6-2 at 17:20.

It was the 16th time that Tampa Bay allowed four or more goals after doing that just 11 times all of last season.

"I thought we started well," Drouin said. "We're moving, skating, taking shots. They did the same thing. That's a good team. Definitely, the result (stinks), but we played pretty well in the first."

Pittsburgh improved its league-leading home record to 18-2-2. The Penguins earned at least a point in each of their past 12 games at PPG Paints Arena (11-0-1).

"We've played really good hockey here, and I think it has to do with the energy we get from the crowd and having that mentality when we're at home to be tough," said Crosby, who reached 44 points to supplant Evgeni Malkin for the Penguins' scoring lead and move into second place in the NHL.

NOTES: Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury and LW Carl Hagelin, who were ill Friday but practiced Saturday, played Sunday. ... Pittsburgh G Matt Murray (lower-body injury) skated on his own for a third day in a row. ... RW Tom Kuhnhackl missed his eighth game in a row, although Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan indicated that Kuhnhackl is now healthy after having a lower-body injury. ... The Lightning played without RW J.T. Brown, who was shaken up Saturday on a hit from Philadelphia's Wayne Simmonds. ... Tampa Bay D Braydon Coburn (upper body) missed his second straight game, and C Brian Boyle (lower body) missed his fourth straight game. ... Tampa Bay D Jason Garrison played in his 500th career game. ... Tampa Bay's healthy scratches were D Nikita Nesterov and RW Ryan Callahan. The Penguins did not dress D Chad Ruhwedel. ... Several members of Pittsburgh's 2009 Stanley Cup team took part in a celebration before the game. Five players -- C Sidney Crosby, C Evgeni Malkin, LW Chris Kunitz, D Kris Letang and Fleury -- remain on the team. D Sergei Gonchar is an assistant coach and RW Bill Guerin is assistant GM.