TAMPA, Fla. -- The Penguins don't just make mistakes. They make M-I-S-T-A-K-E-S.
For example, it wasn't enough that Bryan Rust misfired on a lateral pass to Sidney Crosby ... it also had to be picked off by one of the NHL's premier puck-moving defenseman, Victor Hedman. It wasn't enough that Kris Letang pinched even though Rust had begun peeling back ... he also had to stumble and slide further forward. It wasn't enough that Letang's partner, Marcus Pettersson, was stretched a mile wide at the other point ... he had to match Letang's stumble and slide as if it were a synchronized competition.
Which resulted in a two-on-none ...
... that ultimately resulted in Yanni Gourde's goal and, by the time a few more messes were made, the NHL-leading Lightning prevailing over the Penguins, 5-4, Saturday night at Amalie Arena.
"I thought we fought hard all night," Mike Sullivan would observe, not unfairly. "You know, we battled, we pushed ... "
Slight pause.
"But the types of mistakes we make, we beat ourselves. Some of the decisions we make with the puck, we give teams really high-quality opportunities. And you can't do that against a team as good as they are."
Nope. Not once or twice, let alone three major M-I-S-T-A-K-E-S. Even within what I honestly felt was an exceptional effort put forth by all concerned.
Rust's was the first, though, to repeat, he had ample accompaniment. As he'd colorfully point out, there actually was a lane through which he could have connected to Crosby -- "The decision was great: Sid was open," he'd say. "The pass was f---ing horrendous" -- but he pulled it well to the left. Letang's fall might or might not have been aided by Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Girardi knocking him to the ice, and Pettersson definitely lost the edge on one of his blades. I confirmed that with him afterward.
But oh, my, there's more.
The Lightning built off that to score 57 seconds later on an Erik Cernak point shot that skipped off Patric Hornqvist's leg. And just when the Penguins had finally found their footing and were pressing the attack, their power play did what their power play does these days ...
... in scoring for the other side.
Here we go again: It wasn't enough that Phil Kessel made a blind backhand pass with the man-advantage ... it also went to the middle of the box where, to no one's surprise, three Tampa Bay penalty-killers were packed in, and Ryan McDonagh eagerly collected. It wasn't enough that Jake Guentzel had strayed from the right point after a clear loss of possession ... he also tried to poke McDonagh, taking his momentum into no-man's-land. Finally, it wasn't enough that everyone else had been beaten ... Letang also had to hover between both forwards on the two-on-one rather than removing one option or the other, per standard defending.
Still, it was 3-3 entering the third, thanks to all that fighting, battling and pushing. And the stage had been set for what surely would have been one of the season's more satisfying outcomes.
Until ...
... Tyler Johnson, who'd earlier turtled from a fight with Sidney Crosby and would make the most unbecoming of heroes from the Pittsburgh perspective, scored on that little flick from the left hash to make it 4-3 with 15:06 remaining.
This one's entirely on one player, but that doesn't mean it didn't fit the script. Because it wasn't enough that Jack Johnson allowed the Lightning's Johnson to coast into the zone as the only unmarked man ... no, the Penguins' Johnson also had to drop to a knee for an attempted block that served no purpose beyond setting a screen.
Watch it again and process that the Lightning's Johnson was granted so much space that he had time to catch the pass on his backhand, turn to his forehand and still fire where he wanted without being remotely threatened.
Notice I haven't mentioned Casey DeSmith yet?
That's because two of Tampa Bay's goals clipped Pittsburgh players on the way past him, and the magnitude of the M-I-S-T-A-K-E-S on the other three were too seismic to have considered him a meaningful factor in any of them.
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THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy
Lightning goaltender
Had zero chance on three of the Penguins' four goals and came up with at least a handful of 10-bell saves among his 28, notably a sprawling glove to rob Rust.
2. Ryan McDonagh
Lightning defenseman
An assist on the shorty, a plus-3 rating, a 64.29 Corsi For percentage and a general sense of steadiness throughout.
3. Bryan Rust
Penguins right winger
Had the big giveaway, but rebounded with the prettiest goal of the night and created offensive chances all game.
THE INJURIES
• Nick Bjugstad, center, left the game with 5:48 left in the third period after appearing to be cut under his left arm by the skate blade of Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev:
There was no word from the team after the game on Bjugstad's condition. He didn't return to the game and wasn't in the locker room afterward.
• Brian Dumoulin, defenseman, missed half a period after blocking a Nikita Kucherov shot at 9:24 of the second. He returned for the third.
• Matt Murray, goaltender, dressed as the backup after missing one game to an upper-body injury.
• Justin Schultz, defenseman, was a full participant in the morning skate. He's considered day-to-day.
• Evgeni Malkin, center, out with an upper-body injury, participated in the skate in a red no-contact sweater. He's considered day-to-day.
• Zach Aston-Reese, winger, out with a broken left hand, participated in the skate in a red no-contact sweater. He's considered longer-term.
THE GOOD
McCann scored for the second time in as many games on this Florida swing, whipping a longer-range wrister past Vasilevskiy with a slight assist from Girardi's blade to angle it upward. He also registered four shots and blocked a team-high three in 16:16 of highly visible ice time.
"I'm just trying to focus on the defensive side and let things go from there," McCann told me. "After the first period, I think we all did better at staying on the right side of the puck. If we can do that, I think we'll be fine as a team."
THE BAD
It's all about the points anymore, and not the ones for style. Entering a third period with a tie, regardless of opponent, losing any point, never mind two, is entirely disappointing because the Penguins are now 28-20-7 in the East's eighth and final playoff spot, a single point ahead of the surging Hurricanes.
"Everything matters now," Olli Maatta told me. "Every point, we have to go after."
Garrett Wilson after his first NHL goal. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPSTHE PLAY
On that note, a guy scoring his first NHL goal a decade after he was drafted and a half-decade after he broke into the league ... yeah, that's still special. I spoke with Garrett Wilson, and Matt Sunday captured the moment.
THE CALL
Sullivan shouldn't escape criticism for some of those M-I-S-T-A-K-E-S, either. He's the one who split Letang and Dumoulin for Johnson's benefit. He's the one who's stubbornly stuck through this power play becoming a four-forward farce. He's the one who put Dominik Simon on the ice with the extra attacker. He's the only one holding back Teddy Blueger. And I could keep going.
But here's another: The winning goal came on a sequence in which Steven Stamkos was either offside crossing the Pittsburgh blue line or perilously close to it. And the Penguins didn't challenge.
The ruling on the ice was onside, so any overturn would need to be conclusive. Andy Saucier, the team's replay ace, was seeking any angle that might do that and, ultimately, informed Sullivan he couldn't.
"We were trying to buy as much time as we could," Sullivan explained. "Sauce looked at it a number of different ways, and he thought it was onside, so ... it was close."
It's tough to second-guess that process without access to all the replays the teams and NHL can see, but it's fair to at least wonder, I think, if the challenge might not have been worth it. Sure, the league's rule has changed so a failed offside challenge results in a power play for the opponent. But a goal in a tied third period is a goal in a tied third period.
Not complaining. Not accusing. Just saying.
THE OTHER SIDE
The Lightning's brilliant season rolled on:
Teams in NHL history to win their 40th game in 55 GP or fewer:
2015-16: WSH (53 GP)
2007-08: DET (54 GP)
1995-96: DET (54 GP)
2018-19: @TBLightning (55 GP)
1975-76: MTL (55 GP)
1973-74: BOS (55 GP)
1970-71: BOS (55 GP)#NHLStats #PITvsTBL pic.twitter.com/JomLXv1KLi
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 10, 2019
J.T. Miller, the Coraopolis kid, scored his team's fifth on a shot that rose up off Dumoulin's stick at 14:03 of the third. That made it 5-3 and would prove pivotal since Tanner Pearson would counter 1:19 later.
"I'm just glad to see anything go in," Miller quipped. "It's been a while."
Most of the talk on the home side was about breaking out of a broader slump -- the Lightning had seven goals in the previous five games -- but there also were individuals who broke out. This was his second goal in 11 games, his 10th of the season. Tyler Johnson hadn't scored in 14 games, Cirelli in 20.
"We take a lot of pride in being a deep team with a lot of balanced scoring," Tyler Johnson said. "So it feels good to have a lot of us snap out of it a little."
All except one, actually: Kucherov, the NHL's leading scorer, has gone a stunning 10 games without a goal and, in this one, mustered only one shot.
"I'm not worried about Kuch," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper replied with a small smile to a question on that subject.
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will have Sunday off, flying to Philadelphia for the third and final game of this trip Monday night. Chris Bradford will cover.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our Penguins team page for everything.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins at Lightning, Tampa, Fla., Feb. 9, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
