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Steven Stamkos Scores 46th Goal, Lightning Blank Penguins, 2-0
Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Mike Smith stopped all 27 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the season, as the Tampa Bay Lightning stymied the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-0, at Mellon Arena.
Steven Stamkos and Steve Downie provided the offense for the Lightning, who snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the third time in their last five outings.
Marc-Andre Fleury made just 15 saves for Pittsburgh, which remains one point ahead of idle New Jersey for first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Lightning’s special teams were the story in the first period, successfully killing off a five-minute power play and converting on the man-advantage to grab a 1-0 lead.
Recalled from Tampa Bay's AHL affiliate in Norfolk earlier Wednesday, defenseman Matt Lashoff received a major for boarding and a game misconduct for a hit from behind on forward Ruslan Fedotenko at 2:22. Pittsburgh came close to finding the net, but were unable to convert.
The visitors drew first blood when Stamkos' one-timer from the top of the left circle beat Fleury with three minutes remaining. The top pick from the 2008 draft now has 46 goals on the year, second only to Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, who leads the league with a career-best 47 goals.
Downie fired the puck past Fleury 29 seconds into the middle session to give the Bolts a 2-0 lead.
Smith has 10 career shutouts...The Penguins were once again without the services of center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Sergei Gonchar. Malkin sat out for the seventh time in the last eight games with a bruised foot, while an undisclosed illness forced Gonchar to miss a fourth straight game...Pittsburgh defenseman Jay McKee played in his 800th career game.
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