{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 7, Tampa Bay 3
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, February 26, 2023
Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees: Chris Lee, Michael Markovic
Linesmen: Tyson Baker, Scott Cherrey
Attendance: 17691

Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin each had a goal and an assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins let loose with six unanswered goals in the second period on Sunday to topple the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 7-3.

Drew O'Connor, Teddy Blueger, Jason Zucker and Jeff Carter also scored, and Marcus Pettersson, Kris Letang and Jeff Petry each added two assists for the Penguins, who won their second straight.

Pittsburgh goaltender Casey DeSmith made 26 saves.

Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point each had a goal and an assist, and Anthony Cirelli also scored for the Lightning, who had their three-game point streak snapped.

Tampa Bay goaltender Brian Elliott made 29 saves.

The Lightning played without defenseman Erik Cernak, who served the second game of a two-game suspension.

O'Connor got things started at 3:20 of the first, giving the Penguins a 1-0 lead when he deflected Pettersson's rising point shot past Elliott's glove.

Tampa Bay tied it at 16:06 of the first when a rebound of Zach Bogosian's shot bounced in off Cirelli's knee.

The Lightning took a 2-1 lead 1:59 later during four-on-four play when Kucherov picked up his 700th career point when he put in his own rebound on a backhander.

Pittsburgh then went wild in the second.

Malkin got a breakaway coming out of the penalty box and scored under Elliott's pads at 6:17 to tie it.

On a power play at 15:28, Crosby reached 70 points for the 13th time in his career when he took a backhand feed from Jake Guentzel ad scored from near the right post.

Blueger scored his first goal in 33 games, finishing off a rebound with Elliott pulled out of position, to make it 4-2 at 16:20.

At 17:50, Carter scored his ninth goal of the season when he roofed a shot from the right dot.

Zucker's goal on a backhander made it 6-2 with 1:23 left in the second, and Dumoulin got his first of the season on a blast through traffic with 4.2 seconds left.

Point's power-play goal at 7:57 of the third cut it to 7-3.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Tampa Bay   Pittsburgh
Nikita Kucherov 2 Points Sidney Crosby 2
Nikita Kucherov 1 Goals Sidney Crosby 1
Nikita Kucherov 1 Assists Kris Letang 2
Brayden Point 1 Power Play Goals Sidney Crosby 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Brian Elliott .806 Save Percentage Casey DeSmith .897
Brian Elliott 29 Saves Casey DeSmith 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Tampa Bay 29 3 1-3 1-2 4 25
Pittsburgh 36 7 1-2 2-3 6 30
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Penguins have a W/L % of .586 after a win and .400 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Florida. The Lightning have a W/L % of .605 after a win and .667 after a loss.