Hockey fans everywhere are looking forward to watching the Penguins vs. Lightning Game 3 at Amalie Arena, and the NHL Playoffs live stream will no doubt be searched prior to the game.
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The Pens are truly a team ahead of the pack in the Eastern Conference.
That spells bad news for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Where Crosby rose to the challenge in Game 2 by leading his team in shots on goal, Kessel did just the same here on Wednesday with his team-high eight in 19 minutes of ice time.
Much like the Blues on Tuesday, the Lightning were unable to fix their mistakes and it cost them dearly in Game 3.
I also wonder how long Tampa is going to be competitive without Bishop or Stamkos? “Obviously, they knew that the effort wasn’t good enough”. He dealt a first-round pick to Edmonton for David Perron, who played all of 86 games in a Penguins uniform, which almost gave the Oilers a few extra ping-pong balls in the Connor McDavid draft lottery.
A shift in momentum, however, would favor the Penguins in the second half of the second period.
All found the scoresheet in one way or another last night. The Penguins are averaging nearly 41.3 shots per game in the series.
That speaks volumes to the Pens’ puck possession. With time running down in the second period, Kessel stripped the puck from Jonathan Drouin (a sharp defensive play that Sullivan was eager to highlight) and outraced Victor Hedman down the boards to take a close-range shot. That kid just plays lights out for us every time, and we just haven’t played very well in front of him. Kessel doubled the Penguins’ lead 5:16 into the third period, the United States right winger finding the net for his seventh goal of the playoffs.
As for the Penguins, they are hoping that they can steal one away from home as well to regain the home advantage they had.
Crosby would add his power-play goal after Braydon Coburn elbowed Hagelin in the neutral zone, and Chris Kunitz would put the proverbial icing on the cake for Pittsburgh with his second of the postseason. D Olli Maatta was a healthy scratch for Pittsburgh, which opted for D Justin Schultz for the second game in a row – Schultz has played in only four games in the playoffs before Wednesday. A sentiment shared by players, coaches and media alike.
The Tampa Bay Lightning got what they wanted out of the opening two games of the Eastern Conference Final in Pittsburgh.
Murray was recalled twice from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season, making his National Hockey League debut on December 19 in a 2-1 loss to Carolina. And who could blame them?
In fact, the Kessel line is only considered third because the top two trios are centered by superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin-who haven’t been as productive as Kessel but who both got on the scoresheet on Wednesday.
What’s clear heading into Friday’s Game 4 in Tampa is that the series could be short unless the Lightning do a better job of possessing the puck and increasing their shots on goal.
If nothing else, the threat of the rebound could increase the pressure on Murray to make a clean save on the initial shot and maybe result in a leaky goal or two. Pittsburgh evened up the series with a 3-2 OT win on Monday.
They would lose Game 1 of the Conference semis to the Caps before reeling off three straight again and putting Washington on the brink of elimination.
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Tampa Bay won all three regular seasons meetings before taking Game 1 of this series on the road.
