NHL Playoffs: Lightning vs. Penguins Game 5 full highlights, final score and more
The Tampa Bay Lightning got a much needed win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals to take a 3-2 series lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Going into Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins hoped that a goaltending switch to Marc-Andre Fleury would energize the team against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The goaltending switch did not work as planned as Tampa Bay beat the Penguins 4-3 in overtime to gain a three to two lead in the best of seven series.
Pittsburgh scored two goals in the final minutes of the periods tonight. Brian Dumoulin scored his first career NHL goal with less than five seconds remaining in the first period while Chris Kunitz scored with under a minute left in the second period.
Tampa Bay was able to fight back despite falling down 2-0 thanks to second period goals from Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov. However, their last minute breakdowns at the end of the first and second periods cost them dearly in Game 5 and nearly wound up being the difference. Kucherov scored the game-tying goal and Jason Garrison scored the game winning goal in overtime to ensure that wouldn’t be what caused the Lightning to lose.
Three stars
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy deserves a ton of credit. He kept the Lightning in the game for as long as he could, saving 31 of 34 shots on goal. Vasilevskiy has been phenomenal all series and has arguably been the Penguins’ best player this series.
Nikita Kucherov made sure that the Lightning wouldn’t lose. He scored two goals, including the game tying goal.
Tyler Johnson gets the third star of the game if only because he scored the game winning goal. He has been huge for them this postseason. Johnson has created a resume around being clutch come the playoffs. Tampa Bay is getting production from all over their lineup. That’s a very good sign.
Highlights
Next Game
Game six will be held at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 24. Tampa Bay will have their backs against the wall as they are currently up three games to two in the Eastern Conference Finals series. The Penguins will look to keep from being eliminated.
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