Though Jon Cooper might not be happy with the way his team played Wednesday night, he's not throwing his rookie goaltender under the bus.

Tampa Bay's 21-year-old rookie netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy made 44 saves in the lopsided 4-2 loss, but the team in front of him couldn't put forth the same effort.

"It's extremely disappointing to give up 48 shots," Cooper said postgame. "You feel bad for the kid. He's keeping us in there. We're not bailing him out."

Cooper, as usual, followed up with a joke about the situation.

The Lightning have been outshot 124-69 through three games this series.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning feel they only have themselves to blame for being down two games to one after the Pittsburgh Penguins reclaimed home-ice advantage with a dominant 4-2 win Wednesday.

"Right now, we're feeding their game a lot more than they're feeding ours," defenseman Anton Stralman said postgame.

Both clubs got off to an even, fast-paced start - it wasn't until the second period that Stralman feels things went off the rails.

"They really turned the tables in the second period," Stralman said, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "They spent basically the whole period in our zone."

The Penguins ultimately outshot the Lightning 48-28, including a 21-6 margin in the second period. The Lightning will get their chance at evening the series Friday when they host the Penguins for Game 4.

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Miscommunication makes for excellent live television.

Following a Game 3 win for the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, NBC analyst Pierre McGuire asked Phil Kessel about his breath.

The thing is, he wasn't trying to offer Kessel an Altoid, but rather ask about how he felt after a grueling contest.

Kessel's reaction is straight up delightful.

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TAMPA, Fla. - Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Chris Kunitz scored third-period goals, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night.

Carl Hagelin snapped a scoreless tie late in the second period and Matt Murray had 26 saves for the Penguins, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Game 4 is Friday night at Amalie Arena.

Crosby's power-play goal restored a two-goal lead midway through the final period. Kunitz also beat goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy from the right circle to make it 4-1.

Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat scored for the Lightning. They have lost two straight after winning the series opener in Pittsburgh. The defending Eastern Conference champions were outshot 48-28, including 38-16 over the last two periods.

Vasilevskiy won Game 1 in relief of the injured Ben Bishop and the Penguins took Game 2 in Pittsburgh when Crosby scored the first overtime playoff goal of his career less than a minute into the extra period.

The Lightning were outshot by a combined 76-41 in the first two games, but weren't as concerned with that disparity as much as by a lack of good scoring chances - a problem they hoped to rectify by coming out more aggressive to try to put more pressure on Murray on Wednesday night.

And for a while, they did.

Murray, though, had 12 saves in the opening period, but the Lightning couldn't keep up the pace. Pittsburgh controlled the puck for much of the second period, taking 21 shots to Tampa Bay's six and finally breaking through against the 21-year-old goaltender when Kessel chased down a loose puck before flicking a shot from the right circle.

Vasilevskiy, who had stopped Kessel on a breakaway earlier in the period, blocked the shot directly toward Hagelin, who tipped it in at 19:50.

Kessel's team-leading seventh goal this postseason gave the Penguins a short-lived two-goal lead. Johnson countered for Tampa Bay just 14 seconds later, taking a pass from Nikita Kucherov and barreling in on Murray, who was unable to stop a shot that bounced off his upper body before continuing into the net.

NOTES: Bishop worked out in full gear before Wednesday's morning skate, and coach Jon Cooper said he's hopeful that the Vezina Trophy finalist can practice Thursday. He hasn't played since leaving Game 1 with a lower left leg injury. ''He's progressing,'' Cooper said. ''I think now we're teetering on whether he can be back or not, but there's obviously no guarantees in that. But he's been making gradual steps every day.'' ... The Penguins went 1-for-3 on the power play. Tampa Bay was 0 for 1. ... Crosby's goal was his fifth of the playoffs. The Penguins star scored for the second straight game after going eight in a row without a goal.

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Don't believe the narrative that Phil Kessel's career has been rejuvenated in Pittsburgh. The truth is, his playoff performance with the Penguins is reflective of his career as a whole.

Kessel recorded an assist and scored the following goal in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, improving his postseason point-per-game average to 1.03.

That Kessel is appearing in only his fourth postseason is more reflective of where he played for six seasons than his individual abilities. And even in his lone and short playoff run with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he certainly came to play.

The 28-year-old is excelling on the big stage and it should come as no surprise, considering he's been one of the top performers in the NHL in recent years.

To wit, Kessel ranks fourth among all players in goals at five-on-five (159) and seventh in total points in the same situation (319) since the beginning of 2008-09 and through this past regular season, according to Corsica Hockey.

And don't forget Kessel led all players in points at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi with five goals and three assists in six games, adding further credence to his reputation as a big-game player.

He's even drawing rave reviews from Lightning head coach Jon Cooper.

Kessel developed great chemistry with linemates Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino (allowing for an amazing "HBK" line name), and has the most points to date for a Penguins team that has the look of a Stanley Cup winner.

Taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy when it's all said and done would be the perfect way to cap his first march with the Penguins.

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Call it a useless stat, or call it the mark of a true captain, but when Sidney Crosby scores, the Pittsburgh Penguins win.

Crosby hammered his fifth tally of the postseason - the eventual game-winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning - on a lethal one-timer in Wednesday's 4-2 victory, and with that, the Penguins improved to 5-0 in the playoffs when he registers a goal.

Pittsburgh is 5-4 in games in which he doesn't score.

After notching the overtime winner in Game 2, Crosby now has goals in consecutive games for the second time this postseason.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning won't go quietly.

Just 14 seconds after Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel collected his team-leading seventh goal and 16th point of the postseason, Tyler Johnson walked in and beat goaltender Matt Murray to cut the Penguins' lead to 2-1.

Kessel's goal gives his line of Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino five points on the night, while Johnson's 14th gives him a share of the team scoring lead with forward Nikita Kucherov.

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Patrick Wiercioch could soon be the odd-man out of a crowded Ottawa Senators blue line.

According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Senators are unlikely to offer the pending unrestricted free agent a qualifying deal.

As they did at February's trade deadline, the Senators will try to trade Wiercioch to get something in return, Garrioch reports.

Defensemen Erik Karlsson, Dion Phaneuf, Marc Methot, Mark Borowiecki, and Chris Wideman are under contract in Ottawa, and a cap hit of $2.7 million (what Wiercioch would be owed in a qualifying offer) isn't in new general manager Pierre Dorion's plans.

Wiercioch, 25, was selected by the Senators 42nd overall in the 2008 draft. In 211 NHL games, he's recorded 12 goals and 50 assists.

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