Friday, 4 a.m.
This is how bad things are going for the Tampa Bay Lightning: Even the opposing goaltender is scoring against them.
The Bolts blew a two-goal lead and lost 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday night, their third straight loss. And just to rub it in, Pens’ goalie Tristan Jarry scored on a length-of-the-ice shot with 68 seconds left to play. It was the 17th time a goalie has scored in NHL history.
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Jarry also had 29 saves in the game.
The Lightning are in an awful slump, getting very little from their third- and fourth-lines.
They also seem to struggle in the final period.
“It’s the same story the last couple of games,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “We’re playing some of our better hockey in spurts, and then the mistakes we’re making are tough ones that end up in our net. That was probably the best hockey we’ve played in the first period. Then a couple of plays that lead to chances to some good players and they make you pay.”
Take Thursday night. The Bolts started out strong, getting off 17 shots. Both Steven Stamkos and Tanner Jeannot scored goals for a 2-0 lead.
But the Penguins came back, getting second-period goals from Sidney Crosby and Drew O’Connor. In the third period, Jeff Carter and Jarry scored.
"It'’s not a structure thing or worth ethic," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "At times, we’ve made crazy poor decisions and every time, it ended up in the back of our net."
Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy lost his second game in three starts. He stopped 25 of 28 shots.
The Bolts try again Saturday afternon in Callas. They play the Stars at 2 p.m.
