NHL Playoffs, Penguins vs. Lightning Game 4: Full highlights, final score and more

The Tampa Bay Lightning made a huge statement by striking down the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals to tie the series at two games a piece.

The Tampa Bay Lightning came into Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals needing to get a win to tie up their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at two games a piece. Thanks to a very strong start that featured two first period goals, the Lightning will leave Amalie Arena with the series tied at two. They will face an uphill battle as two of the remaining three games of the series will be played in Pittsburgh.

Tampa Bay got goals from Ryan Callahan and Andrej Sustr in the first period. Assists for Callahan’s goal were given to Hedman and J.T. Brown while assists for Sustr’s goal were given to Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn. They also got second period goals from Jonathan Drouin (assists given to Ondrej Palat and Hedman) and Tyler Johnson (assists by Kucherov and Killorn).

While the Penguins made a third period push thanks to goals from Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin, and Chris Kunitz, it wasn’t enough as the Lightning were able to hang on for the nail-biting 4-3 win. Pittsburgh simply made too many mistakes in the first 40 minutes to overcome them despite a strong final 20 minutes.

Three stars

While Victor Hedman did not score any goals, he had two assists and played incredible throughout the game. He led the Lightning in ice time and was their greatest offensive threat. It’s rare that can be said of a defenseman, but that’s more of a compliment to how well Hedman did than it is an indictment on the Lightning’s forwards.

Tyler Johnson played extremely well despite having an issue in warmups after getting hit in the face by a stray puck. He started off with a full cage to protect his face. Making the switch to a full visor was brilliant and it paid immediate dividends with a second period goal.

Nikita Kucherov had been quiet for most of the series, but the Penguins might have just woken up a sleeping bear. He had two assists on the evening.

Highlights

Next Game

Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Penguins and Lightning will be played on Sunday. The game will be moving to Pittsburgh with the series tied at two games a piece.

For more coverage of the NHL Playoffs, make sure to check out our NHL hub page.