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Crosby gets last laugh vs. Vasilevskiy, Penguins tie series with Lightning

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Sidney Crosby beat Andrei Vasilevskiy just 40 seconds into overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2, on Monday night to tie the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.

You almost got the feeling that Andrei Vasilevskiy would will the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-0 series lead.

The young Lightning goalie was fantastic on Monday, stopping 38 shots, including a great Sidney Crosby chance.

Instead, Crosby scored early in overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins the 3-2 (OT) Game 2 victory, and now this thrilling Eastern Conference Final is tied 1-1.

Some might quibble about what happened before Crosby connected on a Bryan Rust setup, as Tyler Johnson might have been interfered with before the game-winner formulated.

It was an interesting contest overall. The Penguins raced out to a 2-0 lead, yet the Lightning wouldn’t go away, tying the contest up 2-2 heading into the first intermission.

Despite Pittsburgh generating a hail of chances in the third period in particular, the score remained 2-2 through regulation. Vasilevskiy was brilliant while Matt Murray shook off the occasional shaky moment to give both teams quality goaltending for much of Game 2.

This was an up-and-down return to action for Anton Stralman. On one hand, he scored the 2-2 goal to redeem an early mistake. On the other, some may assign some blame to Stralman for some crucial mistakes.

Mike Sullivan mixed up lines with Crosby occasionally pairing up with Evgeni Malkin, yet Crosby seemed particularly dangerous as the game went on. He was finally rewarded with that OT-winner.

Let’s be honest; the Penguins needed this one a lot more than the Lightning. Now the series shifts back to Tampa Bay for Game 3, where we’re certain to see more twists and turns.