The Pittsburgh Penguins should not be looking to make a coaching change at this point in the season. The Pittsburgh Penguins entered their second contest of the year against the Tampa Bay Lightning riding a five-game point streak, but only with two wins in that time. Head coach Mike Sullivan hit the shuffle button for the Penguins’ top six forward group with the focus of finding a spark for lagging players. Reilly Smith was boosted to the first line and Bryan Rust bumped to the second to give Evgeni Malkin a push. With Tristan Jarry in net, the Penguins went to work for yet another tough contest. FIRST PERIOD The Penguins allowed an early power play opportunity for the Lightning, however, and they made quick work to score the game’s opening tally. Following their power play goal, the Lightning kept their foot on the pedal out pacing the Penguins in shots for the remainder of the frame. The Penguins notched a couple of quality chances, but nothing enough to crawl back to tie the game. The first period ended with the Lightning up 1-0 in goals and 11-4 in shots on net. SECOND PERIOD Within the opening minute of the second frame, the Lightning thought they tallied another to make it a 2-0 lead, but the Penguins utilized a coach’s challenge. After review, it was determined that the Lightning were offside, keeping the score at just 1-0. The Penguins got a power play opportunity for themselves but to no avail officially reaching 30 man advantage opportunities without a goal. On the flip side, the Penguins took their second penalty of the game, giving the Lightning a second power play chance which they once again took full advantage. The Lightning’s two goals came from the power play, while the Penguins continued to play from behind in more ways than one. As the period continued, things stayed tilted in the direction of the Lightning and they put up a third tally to give themselves a 3-0 lead late in the second. THIRD PERIOD The Lightning carried that lead into the second intermission putting a tall task ahead of the Penguins in the final 20 minutes. Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy continued to stand tall all period long maintaining his shutout. The Penguins were given a 5-on-3 opportunity for 40 second late in the frame but Vasilevskiy continued to stand his ground. With the final minute of the game, Jake Guentzel broke through to break up the shutout, but that would be all the Penguins could muster. For yet another game, the Penguins struggled on the power play and failed to get much going at 5-on-5 for another marker in the loss column. Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins [http://insidethepenguins.com/]for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more. Reilly Smith Moved to Penguins First Line [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/reilly-smith-moved-pittsburgh-penguins-first-line] Injured Penguins Defenseman Could Receive Massive Promotion [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/podcasts/injured-pittsburgh-penguins-defenseman-receive-massive-promotion] NHL Analyst Knew Penguins Struggles Were Coming [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/nhl-analyst-pittsburgh-penguins-struggles-coming] Sidney Crosby on Record Setting Goal Pace [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/pittsburgh-penguins-sidney-crosby-record-setting-goal-pace] Trying To Find Bright Sides of Penguins Stretch [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/trying-find-bright-side-pittsburgh-penguins-stretch] * undefined * undefined
