Penguins vs. Lightning: Game 4 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NHL Playoffs

Despite nearly letting a four-goal lead slip away in the third period, the Tampa Bay Lightning survived Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final with a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, evening the series at 2-2 on Friday at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who recorded 35 saves, shut out Pittsburgh for two-plus periods, and Tyler Johnson's goal late in the second period provided enough of a cushion for the Lightning to prevent any Pittsburgh magic.

The Lightning tweeted after the game was over:

Pittsburgh goalie Matt Murray was pulled after allowing four goals. Marc-Andre Fleury saw his first game action since March 31. He made seven saves, but Pittsburgh was in too deep of a hole by that point for it to matter.

Much like in Game 2, the home team jumped out to an early two-goal advantage Friday. Unlike the Penguins, however, the Lightning were able to hold on to their lead for a win in regulation.

It took only 27 seconds for Tampa Bay to strike first, when Ryan Callahan redirected Victor Hedman's shot into the net and gave the Lightning the early advantage:

The NHL's Twitter account might not have had enough time to settle in before Callahan scored, but it shared a GIF:

Callahan's goal was the fastest to start a game by a Tampa Bay player since the 2011 Eastern Conference Final, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Tampa Bay's attack continued with 5:32 remaining in the frame, when Andrej Sustr capped off a four-on-three opportunity with his first goal of the postseason:

Sustr has not been a prolific scorer in his NHL career, per James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail:

That's a bad sign for the Penguins, as Tom Krasniqi of 95.3 FM in Tampa noted:

Pittsburgh recorded 12 shots in the first frame, but Vasilevskiy responded well after he allowed three goals in the third period of Game 3, stopping his first 24 shots of the game Friday.

Jonathan Drouin and Tyler Johnson scored in the span of 3:10 to give Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead late in the second period. Drouin fired the loose puck past Murray on the power play:

But the Penguins did not go away quietly. Phil Kessel scored his eighth goal of the postseason 1:18 into the frame. Less than 10 minutes later, Evgeni Malkin's fourth goal of the postseason cut it to 4-2, and Chris Kunitz's power-play goal with 6:52 remaining made it a one-score game:

It had been a while since Malkin had found the net, per Frank Seravalli of TSN:

The Penguins reacted accordingly when Kunitz pulled the team closer to making a comeback:

Vasilevskiy and the Lightning made enough plays in their defensive zone, however, to prevent a major collapse. The series will now move to a best-of-three situation, with Pittsburgh having home-ice advantage.

The Lightning dominated through two periods but eased up in the final stanza. While Tampa Bay deserved to win, it can't afford another third-period letdown.

Pittsburgh accomplished what it needed to, which was split its two road games. Winning Game 3 in convincing fashion was huge. Nearly coming back from four goals down in the third period Friday should bode well for the Penguins' confidence heading into Game 5.

Postgame Reaction

When the score went from 4-0 to 4-3 in the third period, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper just wanted his team to get to the finish line.

"The one thing on the bench was, it doesn't matter how you get there," Cooper said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "So whether you're up 4-0 and it becomes 4-3, or you're down 3-0 and it becomes 4-3, it doesn't matter. You're still winning, so you've got to play like that."

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said his team didn't match Tampa Bay's determination early on. 

"We were not the more determined team for the first half of the game," Sullivan said, per the AP. "They are a good team, and we knew this was going to be a hard game."

Despite Pittsburgh's best efforts to claw back, Penguins star Sidney Crosby said his team shouldn't expect that kind of comeback the rest of the way.

"We fought hard in [the] third, but we can't expect to play like that in the first half and get the results we want," Crosby said, per Sam Kasan of Pens Inside Scoop.

Sullivan also said after Murray's four goals allowed, he hasn't made up his mind on who will start in net for Game 5, per Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The most important thing about this game, from a Tampa Bay perspective, is that it's an even series. 

"Ultimately, the goal is to win the hockey game, and when you wake up in the morning, it's not how they came back and made it a game," Cooper said, per the AP. "Ultimately, the series is 2-2."