GAME RECAP: Penguins vs. Lightning () | A Big Win on Banner Night

No Crosby. No Malkin. No Guentzel. No Matheson. No Aston-Reese... No problem. The Penguins entered this matchup with the defending back-to-back champion Tampa Bay Lightning without many of their star players. After Tampa’s banner went into the rafters, however, it was about as perfect a night for the Penguins as one could draw up. No goals were scored in the opening period, but Pittsburgh’s tenacity kept Tampa on their toes. In the 2nd period, the Penguins started to see some of the fruits of their labor. New member of the Penguins Danton Heinen scored the first goal of the season just 12 seconds into the middle frame after Jeff Carter fed him a pass which Tampa netminder turned over. Another new face, Brian Boyle, followed that up with a tally to increase Pittsburgh’s lead to 2-0. In the final period, Dominik Simon scored with a long-range wrist shot in his return to the team. With the score at 3-0, Lightning coach Jon Cooper decided to pull his goalie with several minutes remainin