Mishkin's Extra Shift: Penguins 4, Lightning 2

Heading into this contest, there was a lot of speculation about how the Lightning would handle the start. After all, they were playing their first game after the bye week and All-Star Break, while the Penguins already had a game under their belt. As it turned out, the Lightning did quite well in a number of areas in that first period. They displayed a high compete level, played physically, skated well, forechecked hard and owned the vast majority of the puck possession. But they also had some issues with turnovers and coverage. Three of those errors led to Grade-A scoring chances for Pittsburgh and the Penguins converted on all of them. By the 8:21 mark of the first, the Lightning were trailing, 3-0.

So those isolated mistakes were one big factor in determining the outcome. Another was Pittsburgh's commitment to defending hard in front of their goaltender. They limited the number of Tampa Bay's high-quality chances and blocked 17 shots. The Lightning also missed the net on 14 other shot attempts.
Still, as mentioned earlier, the Lightning did have some strong moments in this game. Following Pittsburgh's third goal, the Lightning dominated the rest of the first period. They held the Pens without a shot in the final 11:39 of the frame (including during a long five-on-three Pittsburgh power play). First period shot attempts were 27-9 in favor of Tampa Bay, but the score was still 3-0 Pittsburgh by the end of the frame.
The Lightning generated a few good looks early in the second, but those close calls didn't yield a goal. Instead, Kris Letang's tally during a four-on-four at 6:02 extended the Pittsburgh lead and sapped the Lightning's momentum. Perhaps the game would have unfolded differently had the Lightning been able to capitalize during their push in the second half of the first period and the early stages of the second. But credit the Penguins for navigating their way through that stretch, thanks in large part to their strong defensive play without the puck.
Eventually, the Lightning did pop in a couple of goals, but both come in the closing minutes and the Bolts didn't get any closer.
The Lightning's next stop on this three-game trip will be the Nassau Coliseum, where they'll face the Islanders on Friday.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Brian Engblom):
1. Kris Letang - Penguins. Goal and assist.
2. Line of Anthony Cirelli, J.T. Miller and Alex Killorn - Lots of puck possession and Miller had a goal.
3. Evgeni Malkin - Penguins. Two assists.