Pittsburgh 3 Tampa 3
TAMPA, Fla. — With stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin sidelined by injuries, the Pittsburgh Penguins are finding other players they can count on in the playoffs.
Old standby Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots and Tyler Kennedy — silent during the first two games of the post-season — stepped up offensively when the sputtering Penguins needed him most Monday night to score the winning goal in a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Maxime Talbot and Arron Asham also had goals for the Penguins, who took a 2-1 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference best-of-seven playoff series and regained home-ice advantage. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Tampa.
“It’s good to be ahead, but it’s still early and there’s still a lot to be played,” Fleury said.
Pittsburgh rebounded from a 5-1 home loss in Game 2 despite giving up two more power-play goals to Martin St. Louis. The Lightning star erased a 2-0 deficit by striking late in the opening period, then again early in the third to give Tampa Bay hope of taking control of the series.
But Kennedy answered with the go-ahead goal just 31 seconds later, scoring in heavy traffic from in front of goalie Dwayne Roloson after Pittsburgh won a faceoff in the left circle.
The source of the go-ahead goal was not surprising, considering Kennedy posted career highs of 21 goals, 24 assists and 45 points during the regular season while helping the Penguins learn how to win without their biggest offensive weapons.
“He’s added an offensive punch when we needed it, and he comes up with the game winner tonight. You’ve got to have some guys that will step up and score goals,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. “Asham’s got two in the playoffs right now, and T.K. — like he has been doing for us in the last 30 games — steps up tonight and gets the game winner.”
Roloson yielded two goals in a span of 45 seconds of the first period, but the 41-year-old gave up little after that, finishing with 27 saves.
“He’s playing great,” Asham said of the Lightning goaltender, whose mid-season acquisition has been one of the keys to Tampa Bay’s resurgence following a three-year absence from the playoffs. “He’s been around a long time, and we’ve got to get some bodies in front of him — create some traffic — and our third goal was because of that. We had bodies around the net and T.K. battled and tucked it in for us.”
Notes: Crosby, out since early January with a concussion, had an off-ice workout, but didn’t take part in Thursday morning’s optional skate. “His workout regimen, the one he’s gone through over the last five days, continues to be all through the doctor,” Bylsma said. “There’s no change in his status.”
Philadelphia 4 at Buffalo 2
BUFFALO, N.Y. — With his mask on, and for a brief moment without it, goalie Brian Boucher provided the Philadelphia Flyers the steadying presence they were looking for to gain an edge in their first-round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres.
Boucher stopped 35 shots as the Flyers’ new starter to lead them to a 4-2 victory and grab a 2-1 series lead Monday night.
It was Boucher’s first start and second straight win of the series after he stopped 20 of 21 shots in relief of rookie Sergei Bobrovsky in a 5-4 victory in Game 2 on Saturday.
That was enough to convince Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, who was rewarded for his decision to stick with “Booosh,” the team’s most experienced goalie. “He just settled things down,” Laviolette said. “At the game’s start, he had a calming presence about him. ... To get a veteran presence in there made a big difference.”
Boucher’s calmness was particularly apparent eight minutes into the third period with Flyers clinging to a 3-2 lead and attempting to kill off Buffalo’s two-man advantage. Boucher slid across to his left and lunged forward to stop Tyler Ennis, whose shot hit the left side of the goalie’s mask and broke a strap. Without hesitation, Boucher pulled off his mask to stop the play.
Though fans booed Boucher and yelled for officials to call a delay of game penalty, the goalie was content in knowing he did the right thing.
“The mask was loose, and I felt it was kind of unsafe because the mask was kind of moving around on my face,” Boucher said, noting he’s seen other goalies do the same thing to get a stoppage in play. “I know the rules. Otherwise, I don’t know if I would’ve done it.”
Danny Briere and Nikolay Zherdev keyed the victory by scoring second-period goals as Philadelphia bounced back after a 1-0 series-opening loss Thursday.
Jeff Carter and Kimmo Timonen, with an empty-netter, also scored as the Flyers improved to 6-0-2 in their past eight visits to Buffalo, including the regular season.
Drew Stafford and Nathan Gerbe scored in a game the Sabres never led. Buffalo has lost consecutive games for the first time since ending a three-game skid Feb. 23.
Now its the Sabres’ turn to respond in preparing to host Game 4 on Wednesday.
“I don’t think they’ve been outstanding, and I don’t think we’ve been outstanding,” Sabres goalie Ryan Miller said. “We haven’t had our best yet, and we’re going to need it.”
Miller hasn’t been at his best since opening the series with a 35-save shutout.
He finished with 22 saves Monday, and allowed the Flyers to open the scoring 4:42. That’s when Carter snapped a shot from the right circle that sneaked in under Miller’s arm and left the goalie shaking his head in disgust.
It wasn’t all Miller’s fault, as the Sabres were undone by defensive miscues and a lack of offensive finish.
Buffalo converted only one of six power-play chances, failed to generate much momentum following a first period in which it outshot Philadelphia 16-6, and was unable to build off a raucous and loud home crowd.
“The results aren’t good enough,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “The problem is when you’re chasing the lead all night, you’re going to give up some opportunities. It’s tough to chase it. You don’t want to start off by giving them the lead.”