The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 last night at PPG Paints Arena. The Pens jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period on goals by Riley Sheahan, Phil Kessel and Sidney Crosby. Kris Letang would make the game 4-0 with his 12th goal of the season. That goal was the 108th of Letang’s career, tying him with Paul Coffey for the franchise record for defenseman.
Goaltender Matt Murray stopped 33 of 35 shots. The Lightning did not score until just over four minutes remaining in the game.
Evgeni Malkin had two assists in the game, giving him a total of 601 in his career. He became the fourth Penguis player and fourth Russian player to do so. He is the 89th NHL player to reach that mark.
Last night’s victory moved the Penguins into a second-place tie with Washington in the Metropolitan Division. Both teams have 60 points, three behind the first place New York Islanders.
The Pens play back-to-back games this weekend. They host Ottawa Friday, then travel to Toronto Saturday.