The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to get back on track after dropping Game 2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on home ice. The Lightning are looking to feed off the home crowd to take the series lead in Game 3.
Penguins Vs. Lightning, Game 3: Tampa Hopes To Take Advantage Of Home Crowd
After shutting out the Lightning 3-0 in the first game of the series, the Pittsburgh Penguins gave up three goals in the first period and five goals overall in their 5-1 loss to the Lightning in Game 2. This is the first home playoff game for the Tampa Bay Lightning since April 22, 2007. In that game, the Lightning lost to the New Jersey Devils in the decisive Game 6 of that series.
The Pittsburgh Penguins struggled all season on the power play and those struggles have carried over to the playoffs. They are 0 for 13 against the Lightning on the man advantage and need to find a way to capitalize on the man advantage. Mark Madden from the Beaver County Times had this to say about the Penguins powerplay:
It’s too late to analyze the power play, 0 for 13 so far against Tampa Bay. Too late to fix it, too. When a power play has been that bad, for that long, the misery is so compounded there are no answers. The Penguins’ man-advantage malaise dates back long before the beginning of this season and long before the injuries to Crosby and Malkin.
I don’t know where to start when it comes to criticizing the power play. Nothing works. It looks like rec time at the insane asylum.
For the Lightning, they need to get their leading scorer out of his scoring slump. Steven Stamkos hasn't scored in the playoffs yet and while it hasn't hurt the team yet, Stamkos still needs to find the back of the net soon. Stamkos said as much before Monday night's game:
“It definitely bothers you,” Stamkos said. “Trying to not let it is the hard part. Especially with the way things went in the last couple of years, you kind of expect it of yourself. You know your teammates count on you, as well, and your coaching staff.”
“[The slump] is something that has been a little prolonged for my liking,” he said. “But, at the same time, I’ve really picked up other aspects of my game that are going to need to be there in order to be successful, especially in the playoffs.”
Game time is at 7:30 pm and can be seen on CBC in Canada and on Versus after the Flyers/Sabres game ends. For more information on this game, please visit our Penguins site, Pensburgh, our Lightning site, Raw Charge, and our coverage here at SBnation.com
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