Penguins vs. Lightning: Game 6 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NHL Playoffs

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan made a wise choice.

Sullivan elected to go with rookie goaltender Matt Murray on Tuesday in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, and the youngster rewarded him with a 5-2 victory on the road over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. The series is now tied at three games apiece and will shift back to Pittsburgh for a decisive Game 7.

The NHL responded to the result with the two best words in sports:

While Murray started the opening four contests of the series, the Penguins turned to veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the third period of Game 4 and during the Game 5 loss. Murray was given the chance Tuesday and responded with 28 saves on 30 Tampa Bay shots (93.3 save percentage). He helped set the tone as Pittsburgh jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first two periods and then blocked critical shots down the stretch.

On the other side, Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 33 shot attempts (87.9 save percentage) and couldn't prevent the high-powered Pittsburgh offense from controlling the pace.

Phil Kessel, Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Nick Bonino (empty net) all scored for the Penguins, while Brian Boyle scored both of Tampa Bay's goals.

It appeared as though the Lightning picked up right where they left off in Game 5 with an early first-period goal from Jonathan Drouin. Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin had a golden opportunity on one end, but Vasilevskiy turned him away and set up Tampa Bay's counter. Drouin buried the puck to temporarily give the home team a 1-0 lead after it bounced around in front of a wide-open net.

However, Pittsburgh challenged for offside and the goal was overturned. Dan Rosen of NHL.com said "Drouin's back skate was in the air and his front skate was over the line, so offside. Great challenge by the Penguins," while NHL on NBC provided a look at the critical moment:

Both goaltenders and defenses held strong for most of the first period, but Pittsburgh broke through for the game's first goal during a five-on-three power play shortly after it stopped a Tampa Bay power play. Anton Stralman (interference) and Victor Hedman (delay of game) were both in the penalty box, and Kessel took advantage when he put his stick on a cross-crease pass from Crosby.

NBC Sports shared the goal, while Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reflected on Kessel's efforts:

Pittsburgh ended the first period with the 1-0 lead and a commanding 14-4 advantage in shots. Outside of the initial Tampa Bay goal that was waved off, the Penguins controlled the opening 20-minute span.

The visitors continued that dominance in the second period and extended their lead to 2-0 when Letang connected on a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle, via the Penguins:

Outside of the two allowed goals, the primary problem for the Lightning was their lack of offensive opportunities. Ondrej Palat had a chance during the second but was turned away in what was only Tampa Bay's eighth shot of the game at the time. Al Muir of Sports Illustrated said the defending Eastern Conference champions were "practically giving this thing away," as they failed to generate offense.

Crosby then took things into his own hands with his strength and speed in the open ice, adding a third goal for Pittsburgh with less than a minute remaining in the period, via the Penguins:

Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times said it was the "third last-minute goal given up in [the] last two games" by the Lightning, while Bryan Burns of the team's official website noted the "lapses in [the] final minute of periods this series have been unreal."

The Penguins took the 3-0 lead and a 26-11 shots advantage into the final period. Burns commented on Murray's play as Pittsburgh closed in on a do-or-die Game 7:

Tampa Bay finally found a way to get the puck past Murray—use some help from the Penguins. Boyle threw a centering pass in front of the net and it deflected off Kessel into the goal, via the NHL:

Wes Crosby of NHL.com commented on the Lightning's first goal:

Tampa Bay unleashed a barrage of shots following the goal, but Murray knocked them all away and helped his team maintain the two-goal cushion. However, the offensive pressure was eventually too much for even Murray to withstand as Boyle scored again, this time with a snipe of his own, to pull the Lightning to within 3-2 with just more than seven minutes remaining in the game.

While Tampa Bay's offense was peppering the goal with shots, Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports recognized Vasilevskiy was keeping his team in the game on the other side:

Just when things were getting dicey for the Penguins, Chris Kunitz hit a streaking Rust with a beautiful pass to set up an uncontested shot against Vasilevskiy. Rust finished it with just more than two minutes left, giving Pittsburgh some much-needed breathing room at 4-2, via the Penguins:.

Roughly a minute later, Bonino buried an empty-net goal to effectively end the contest.

What's Next?

Game 7 in this series is Thursday in Pittsburgh.

It is easy to point to the home-ice advantage and assume the Penguins will win, especially after Tuesday's performance, but the Lightning already captured two of the first three in Pittsburgh this series and understand what it takes to prevail on the road (they were 21-18-2 away from home this season).

What's more, the Penguins won two of the three games in Tampa Bay, so home-ice advantage hasn't meant much in this series.

Still, Murray was fantastic on Tuesday and will likely be in the net for Game 7, while the Penguins offense came through when it needed to early and late. If that combination shows up again Thursday, it will be Pittsburgh squaring off with either the St. Louis Blues or San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final.

Postgame Reaction

Pittsburgh’s playmakers reflected on the opportunity in front of them after the win. Crosby said, via the Penguins, “You just have an appreciation for how hard it is to get to this point. We just want to make the most of this opportunity.”

Rust discussed Game 7 and said, via the Penguins, “I’m excited. It’s one of those things you think about growing up as a kid.”

Sullivan commented on the performance from Murray, per James O’Brien of NBC Sports: “He has a calming influence. He doesn’t get rattled. If he lets a goal in, he just continues to compete. That’s usually an attribute that usually takes years to acquire that, and to have it at such a young age is impressive.”

On the other side, Lighting coach Jon Cooper talked about the early no-goal from Drouin, per Burns: “It would have been nice if that counted, but I don't think that had an effect on the outcome of the game."

Cooper also pointed out what his team needs to do moving forward after allowing five goals in Game 6, per Burns: “If we want to advance, playing D is going to have to be a mandate.”

Tampa Bay can at least take solace in the fact it beat the New York Rangers on the road in Game 7 of last year’s Eastern Conference Final. Cooper said, per Rosen, “What I can take from last year is we went to Game 7 and we won Game 7. I bet we’ll be thinking about that.”

The Lightning will need a similar performance Thursday if they plan on reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year.