Finally, after four years away from postseason play, the Tampa Bay Lightning began what they hope will be an extended run through the Stanley Cup playoffs when they took on the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night in game one. For the Lightning, the first game back in the postseason didn’t go quite according to plan, as the Penguins beat the Lightning 3-0 behind the strong play of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
The fifth-seeded Lightning came out flying through the first six minutes of the game, throwing every thing they had at Marc-Andre Fleury and earning a seven-to-two advantage on the shot clock. The game also started out with a real physical edge to it, as Steven Stamkos was welcomed rudely to his first NHL playoff game by Brooks Orpik in the near corner as he chased after the puck. The Lightning penalty kill was also sharp in the first, killing off all three chances the Penguins had. The Lightning when to the intermission with a 14-10 lead in shots, but the game remained scoreless.
This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2011.