Pittsburgh Review

The Pittsburgh Penguins faced the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, aiming to bounce back from a recent defeat against Ottawa. Despite a strong effort, the Penguins were unable to secure a win, falling 5-2.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby reflected on the team's performance over the weekend: "They're two different games. Yesterday, we didn't really give ourselves a chance at all. Tonight, I thought we deserved better, but you don't get points for playing well. You got to find a way to win games, and we have to do that."

Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning scored twice, including a critical goal with just over three minutes left in regulation that broke a 2-2 tie. The Lightning added two empty-net goals to seal their victory.

Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan commented on his team's efforts: "We played on top of them. I thought we defended hard in a lot of instances... It's unfortunate the way it just evolved in the last couple of minutes because I thought our group played really hard."

The Penguins are currently fighting for a Wild Card playoff spot and hold a record of 2-4-3 since returning from the holiday break. Crosby acknowledged the challenges they face: "If you're looking at wins and losses, I mean – it's a pretty fine line... Obviously, the results haven't been there, but we've given ourselves a chance in a lot of those games to win."

Rickard Rakell scored early for Pittsburgh, leading them into the first intermission with an advantage. Kevin Hayes tied the game in the third period during Michael Bunting's absence due to an off-ice incident.

Sullivan remains optimistic about his team’s future performances: "I think the players, their intentions are in the right spot... We got to dig in here... We’re in every game we play. Tonight's no different."

Lineup changes included Phil Tomasino's return after recovering from an injury and Evgeni Malkin's continued absence due to an upper-body injury.