In the first five games of the series, the team that scored first had won all five. The Lightning shrugged off the Penguins lighting the lamp first to go on and win on home ice 4-2. Dwayne Roloson (3-2-1) stopped 27 of 29 shots and Steve Downie had a goal and three points to lead the way.
“What I liked about his (Downie) game tonight is not just his offensive game," Tampa Bay head coach Guy Boucher stated. "We know he is a really smart guy with the puck, but I like the way he is controlling his emotions. We all know that it is something he has been working really hard on this year. I gave him the star of the game on our team.”
Downie knows that his play would have gone for nothing if it wasn't for the outstanding play, after the mishandle of the puck in the first that led to the first goal of the game, by Roloson.
“You can’t say enough (about Roloson)," Downie said. "He’s been great for us since he’s been here and he made save after save for us.”
The Lightning did pick up their defensive play for Roloson as they were giving up over 38 shots on goal through the series and the Pens could only muster 29 as this was a point of emphasis for the Bolts in game six. The way they lowered the shot output by the Pens was by controlling the puck by winning 60% of the face offs and then knocking Pittsburgh off the puck by out hitting the black and yellow 29-22.
"Guys are sacrificing their bodies with every step," Steven Stamkos explained. "You have to expect to play all the way to the end.”
The game didn't start the way the Bolts wanted when Roloson mishandled the puck behind the net and Max Talbot found Pascal Dupuis in front and he buried the puck at the 8:23 mark of the first period.
Teddy Purcell was able to knot up the contest with his first career play off goal with 3:24 left in the first period. Assists came from Ryan Malone and Downie collected his first of two assists on the night.
The Bolts took the lead at the 5:44 mark of the second period when Dominic Moore gave an unbelievable no look, misdirection pass from behind the net right to Sean Bergenheim who twisted the twine as Marc-Andre Fleury (3-3-0) was completely fooled by the pass.
“Their two power plays in the first period changed the momentum," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said. "They got the momentum and they got a goal right after the second power play. It was a significant part of the second period and was ultimately a significant part of the game.”
A key moment in the second period was also Chris Conner mishandling the puck coming in on a penalty shot. Again, the Penguins power play has yet to figure out the Tampa Bay penalty kill as they went zero for four with the man advantage and a failed penalty shot all in the second period.
Jordan Staal did score at the 3:48 mark of the third period to tie the score but the Lightning struck right back 1:07 later when Steve Downie was able to slip the puck under Fleury after Vincent Lecavalier fed the puck right to the front of the net.
Ryan Malone pushed the lead to two goals when he was able to blast a slap shot ten feet from Fleury on a break away high to the right side to give the final score of 4-2.
Heading into game seven on Wednesday night, both coaches believe they have the experience to handle the unique stresses that game sevens present.
“There is some experience to be drawn from the emotion and the experience of playing a Game 7 and playing a do or die game for both teams," Bylsma said. "I also know that it will be different. It’s a different emotion. You play seven games and you play a good team. You somewhat plan and expect it to be a battle when you play a certain way.”
The Lightning are 2-0 all time in game sevens and Boucher says they are ready for it again.
“We just played two Game 7s because that is the position we are in. That fifth game was a do or die for us and that sixth game was a do or die. The seventh game for us is a do or die. We just played two.”
Other Quotes
Steve Downie:
“I think our whole team stuck to our game plan and remained disciplined. Our penalty kill was great and everyone did an all-around job tonight.”
Nate Thompson:
“If you look at all the playoff games, they’re mostly one-goal games. We know that and we expect that and we have to a play a certain style if we want to win big games.”
On the role of the team’s grinders:
“We have to utilize them. They played a huge role for us tonight and stepped up. We can’t expect for Marty, Stammer and Vinny and Gagne to score every game.”
On if the team played with a certain mentality:
“I don’t think there is a mentality. It’s just desperation. This is playoff hockey and we have to do whatever we have to do to win at this time of year.”
Steven Stamkos:
On the play of Dwayne Roloson:
“He made some terrific saves and kept us in there. He had a great stop on Talbot and another one on Dupuis with the rebound. That one was a game-changer and really swung the momentum for us. The crowd really got into it and we responded quickly after. We never quit.”
Dwayne Roloson:
“We stayed with our game plan and did what we had to do to win a hockey game. We didn’t change anything. We stayed within our system and played the way we had to play.”
James Neal:
On the lack of success with the power play:
“Anytime you go on the power play, you want to score. We had some good looks but couldn’t find one.”
On if there is any positive aspect to take away from two straight losses:
“It’s a seven- game series and they are a good team. They’ve played with heart all along and now it comes down to one. We’re going to lay it out on the line and do what we can to come out with a win. We’ve got a good team in here. Everyone is counting on everybody to have a big game.”
Kris Letang:
“They have some momentum on us right now, they’re playing great and they’re playing within their system. We have to regroup tomorrow, have a talk and make sure we’re ready to go to play our best game of the year.”
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • 
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