Lightning stop Pens in OT

In Pittsburgh, Yanni Gourde scored in extra time for the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2-1 win on Tuesday night.

Mikhail Sergachev scored in regulation for the Lightning – file photo by Lewis Bleiman

“The first 20 games, from 10 to 20, you think about it every single day,” Gourde said. “After that, you start focusing on different things. How to help this team win. I know I’m better than just scoring goals. I think I can be effective and relevant to this team even when I’m not scoring, so I was trying to take a lot of pride in every little detail of my game.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 35 saves to get the win.

“There’s the quarterback in football. There’s the goaltender in hockey,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “It’s a big part of the team. … There’s no perfect defense, and you need somebody to bail you out when it’s needed. [Vasilevskiy has] been that. From right before the Christmas break until now, it’s impressive to watch.”

Evgeni Malkin staked the Pens to an early 1-0 lead.

Mikhail Sergachev scored in regulation for the Bolts.

“[Vasilevskiy] saves our team,” Sergachev said. “Sometimes, we’re just like, ‘Oh, it’s a goal.’ But there he is. Blocker, glove, chest, whatever. … He’s a tough goalie to score on.”

[WATCH: All Lightning vs. Penguins highlights]

Matt Murray made 36 saves in the loss.

“We knew it was going to be a battle coming in,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought both teams had their moments. I thought we had a great third period. We hit a lot of posts. We had a chance to win.”