PITTSBURGH -- James Neals power-play goal 1:27 into overtime lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to a wild 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Ducks Jerseys China . Neals slapshot over Anders Lindbacks right shoulder capped a frantic final 15 minutes of play as the teams traded the lead three times. Evgeni Malkin had two goals and two assists while Sidney Crosby added a goal and two assists for the Penguins, who have won nine straight over the Lightning. Jeff Zatkoff stopped 21 shots and Pittsburgh ended Tampa Bays five-game winning streak. Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filppula and Ondrej Palat scored for the Lightning, who have recorded at least one point in eight straight games. Lindback made 25 saves but had no chance on Neals 23rd goal of the season. The teams spent two periods playing the kind of conservative hockey more suited for the Stanley Cup playoffs than the wide-open attacking style more fitting for two of the most offensively talented teams in the league. No matter, they made up for it in the third. Stamkos broke a 1-1 tie 8:17 into the final period when he poked a rebound underneath Zatkoffs legs to put the Lightning in front. The lead lasted less than three minutes, as Malkin pounced on a rebound off a Matt Niskanen slapshot into an open net for his third goal in two games. Malkins 23th of the season came with 3:17 left in regulation when he powered a shot by Lindback that seemed to deflate the Lightning. It did, but only momentarily. Palat stunned the 319th consecutive sellout crowd at Consol Energy Center when he cleanly beat Zatkoff to tie the game at 3 with just 1:22 left in regulation. Tampa Bay gave the leagues top-ranked power play a chance to end it when the Lightning were called for too many men on the ice 1:11 into overtime. The Penguins needed just 16 seconds to win it as Malkin set up Neal in the forwards favourite spot at the top of the left circle. The puck was a blur as it sailed into the net as Pittsburgh bounced back from a 5-4 overtime loss to Detroit on Thursday when the Red Wings scored on a bounce off a Penguins defenceman with less than a second to go in overtime. The Lightning have been the hottest team in hockey not named the Boston Bruins since Stamkos return from a leg injury last month. Fueled by their star -- and his elevation to captain after Martin St. Louis was traded to the New York Rangers -- Tampa Bay has sprinted to third in the Eastern Conference standings. They certainly looked like one of the conferences elite while trying to end a lengthy bout of futility against Pittsburgh. Tampa Bay clogged the neutral zone and seemed to have the upper hand at times when the teams were playing at full strength. Seven penalties, however, did them in. The Penguins went 3 for 6 on the power play. NOTES: Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said theres a "possibility" goaltender Tomas Vokoun could play before the beginning of the post-season, though it seems unlikely. Vokoun has been out since training camp while recovering from a blood clots. ... Zatkoff picked up the first point of his NHL career with the secondary assist on Crosbys goal. ... The Lightning host the New York Islanders on Monday while the Penguins welcome the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. Sam Steel Jersey . So true. It is one thing to create a winning football team, and another to keep it winning. Each and every week it changes. The NFL creates a unique interest of not who is "the best", but much more who is "the best this week". Troy Loney Jersey . And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand.Puckhandling - from a goaltenders standpoint - is an underrated skill that can be more valuable than people realize. When it comes to exiting the zone cleanly, youre always aware of the way a team forechecks against you and the routes your defencemen run when coming back in. This week, Im looking at it from a starters standpoint - its the starter who handles the bulk of the games and the skaters get used to tendencies of the guy whos back there the most. My first ever goaltending partner in the NHL was Ron Hextall. He was - and still is to this day - the greatest puckhandling goalie of all time. Not only did he revolutionize the position, he singlehandedly changed the way goalies play (and are expected to play) when it comes to handling the puck and playing dump-ins. When I played with Ron, we would chart how many touches he had in a period with the puck outside the net. Then we kept track of how many positive and negative plays that were made with the puck. On average, I remembered him handling the puck anywhere from 15 to 20 times per period. And he had about an 80 per cent success rate on his decision-making - pretty impressive for someone who handles the puck that much. Now keep in mind - this is someone who literally had a better slap shot than some of our teammates and re-strung his catchers glove so that he could get a better grip on his stick. And that stick was curved with a blowtorch and shaved along the blade with a file - an unreal process to see in person. Hexys puckhandling was a lot different than your general leave it or play it decisions. He cleared the zone down the ice when we were killing penalties or made a saucer pass to hit someone at centre ice on a transition play to catch the other team on a change. Some high rate goaltenders today are certainly capable of doing it, but Ive never seen it with the consistency that Hextall had. That being said, there are really four generic plays that goaltenders use when it comes to getting out and stopping the puck behind the net or making a play/exchange with your blueliners. LEAVE IT: This is simply stopping the puck it and leaving it for the defenceman to come back and make a play with it. This ensures the puck a) isnt stuck against the boards on the edge and that b) youre leaving it in an area where a defenceman has options to turn up, cut the net for a clear exit or ring it hard around the boards for the winger. Thats usually communicated between the defeneeman in the goalie with the words, leave it. PLAY IT OR RING IT: Its where the goalie just rings it hard around the boards. Ninety-five per cent of it is done on the strong side - meaning a forehand shot thats usually up on the glass. The purpose is to beat the first forechecker, who most likely has pressure on the defence and is trying to cut the boards off. If you ring it hard on the forehand, youll likely get it past this first forechecker and the strong side winger will come back to retrieve it on the half wall. The worst-case scenario is a 50-50 battle with an opposing defenceman whos potentially pinching. This is usually communiicated between defencemen and the goalie with the words, play it or ring it. Jason Marshall Jersey. REVERSE OR OVER: This is a reverse play where the defenceman will fan off to the other side of the net and the goalie draws a forechecker to him. Then the goaltender makes a snooker play - banking the play off the boards so that a defenceman still receives it where he can make an up-ice play where he doesnt have to dig it off the dasher of the boards. The call on this is usually the words, reverse or over. PASS IT: This is for the advanced goaltenders - a direct pass to a winger or centreman past the first forechecker. This is usually when the first defenceman back has drawn a forechecker very close to him. When that happens, theres a lane to get directly to the boards. This is more high risk and most goalie coaches will frown on that play - unless his starter is capable of making it consistently. There are certainly other set plays from team to team, depending on the starting goaltenders skill. But if the starter of your favourite team is consistent with these calls and strong with his exchanges with his blueliners, then puckhandling can become a very reliable source in exiting the zone cleanly. That said, there are different styles of puckhandlers as well: THE QUARTERBACK: These are guys who really skilled with the puck and are capable of making complex plays and direct passes. They can clear the zone in a penalty killing situation and are generally the best in the business in handling pucks. Were talking about Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Arizonas Mike Smith, Washingtons Braden Holtby, Steve Mason of the Flyers, Pekka Rinne in Nashville and Montreals Carey Price. THE DISHER: These goalies are above-average at handling the puck, but dont play a risky game with it and usually stay within their comfort zone. Thats Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars, Torontos Jonathan Bernier, Ottawas Craig Anderson, Marc-Andre Fleury in Pittsburgh, Anaheims Frederik Anderson and Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins. STOP AND LEAVE: Theyre very efficient at making the first three plays listed above. Their focus is to get in and out of the net very quickly, with average skills and puckhandling. This applies to Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, Chicagos Corey Crawford, Semyon Varlamov of Colorado, Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, Carolinas Cam Ward, Brian Elliott in St. Louis, New Jerseys Cory Schneider, Detroits Jimmy Howard, Ryan Miller of the Canucks and Minnesotas Darcy Kuemper. THE MINIMAL TOUCH: These goaltenders have limited puckhandling skills, as their focus is on stopping the puck and not handling it outside the net. Its just not a strength of their game. Starters under this category include Floridas Roberto Luongo, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, Ben Scrivens of the Oilers, Islanders netminder Jaroslav Halak, San Joses Antti Niemi, Ondrej Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets, Calgarys Jonas Hiller and Buffalos Michael Neuvirth. Once again, this is one of the most important team skills that doesnt get enough attention consistently. ' ' '
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