Make no mistake about it, this is a great time to be a hockey fan. There will be two Game 7 showdowns on Tuesday and thanks to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, there will be at least one more on Wednesday.
The Lightning won thanks to Steve Downie’s one-goal, two assist night and a 27-save Dwayne Roloson performance, setting up a decisive Game 7.
Tampa Bay 4, Pittsburgh 2; Series tied 3-3.
Pascal Dupuis began the scoring about eight minutes into the first period, but Teddy Purcell banged a rebound home to send the first period to a 1-1 tie. Sean Bergenheim scored the only tally of the second period, sending Tampa Bay into the third with a 2-1 lead. Jordan Staal scored his first goal of the playoffs with a great shot to tie things up 2-2, but that’s when the game turned on its head.
Roloson made an enormous, highlight-reel save right after allowing that tying goal and then Downie answered Staal’s goal with the game-winner a bit more than a minute later. He barely slipped the puck under Marc-Andre Fleury to collect a rebound goal.
Ryan Malone made his fair share of mistakes, including taking a third period penalty, but he ended up putting the exclamation point on Tampa Bay’s win by scoring with a slap shot on a partial breakaway. Malone told Versus that he just “closed his eyes” and hoped it would go in. He ended up with a goal and a primary assist in the game.
Two experienced goalies in different spots
While Fleury didn’t give up a bunch of goals like he did in Pittsburgh’s two other losses, there still might be some question about his mindset after this game. Fleury allowed four goals on just 21 shots. Of course, “The Flower” received plenty of criticism at times during the Penguins’ 2009 playoff run, yet most people just remember his Cup-clinching save against Nicklas Lidstrom in Game 7 of the finals.
Tampa Bay probably doesn’t share the same worries with their hot-and-cold goalie. Roloson stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced, pushing his record in elimination games to a startling 5-0. (Beyond being a solid goalie, Roloson did this without ever winning a Stanley Cup because he was injured in the first game of the Edmonton Oilers’ Cup finals series against the Carolina Hurricanes and was demoted in a goalie rotation during his days with the Minnesota Wild.)
Looking ahead
While Tampa Bay’s comeback after being down 3-1 isn’t quite on par with the Chicago Blackhawks’ turnaround, it’s still an impressive feat. Of course, it won’t mean much if they cannot complete the task, as they must beat the playoff-proven Penguins in Pittsburgh on Game 7.
Naturally, we’ll break that game down before and after it takes place on Wednesday. Stay tuned.