PITTSBURGH, Pittsburgh, Pa. – Facing elimination from the 2011 play-offs, Steven Stamkos finally found his scoring touch to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to an emphatic 8-2 win over Pittsburgh and keep the Bolts season alive.
Trailing three games to one heading in to the match up Lighting netminder Dwayne Roloson rebounded from a loss in game 4 to post a 31 save performance, with a number of key stops in the opening frame before Simon Gagne lit the lamp for the Bolts with 3 minutes remaining in the period. Just 30 seconds later Stamkos scored his first post season goal, stuffing home a rebound to beat Marc Andre Fleury in the Pens net.
The momentum stayed with the Lightning in to the second period when Stamkos fed Tampa captain Vincent LeCavalier who was left alone in front of the Pittsburgh goal to cherry pick his second goal of the post season. Gagne continued to heap misery on the home side when he converted the rebound from Mike Lundin’s point shot triggering a change in goaltenders for the Pens as Brent Johnson entered the fray.
But the change did little to alter Pittsburgh’s fortune when Stamkos grabbed his second of the night on the powerplay after Mike Rupp had been sent to the box; leaving the usually defensive strength of the Penguins looking decidedly flimsy in front of their own fans.
Pavel Kubina extended the Lightning’s lead to 7-0 early in the 3rd period with a pair of powerplay markers as Pens discipline began to fade and their fans headed for the exits.
Mike Rupp and Chris Conner did get Dan Bylsma’s side on the board, whilst Dominic Moore completed the rout with a little under 5 minutes left in the game as the Bolts ensured the series would head back to Florida on Monday for the pivotal game 6 show down at the St Pete’s Times Forum.
Contact the author: rob.mcgregor@prohockeynews.com
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