PITTSBURGH — It was a Marc-Andre Fleury love-in at Consol Energy Center on Sunday night, but leave it Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning to spoil the party.
Thanks to a Tyler Johnson goal 53 seconds into overtime, the Tampa Bay Lightning are just one victory away from a second consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup final. The 4-3 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final spoiled Fleury’s return to the Penguins net after 52 days between starts.
Jason Garrison’s shot from the side boards deflected off Johnson’s back and past Fleury, finishing off the Lightning’s blueprint of keeping the pressure on the Penguins.
“That’s what we wanted to do,” Garrison said. “We wanted to carry it to them.”
Kucherov scored twice and added an assist in the victory.
The Lightning now lead the series 3-2 with Game 6 scheduled for Tuesday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa. This is the Penguins’ first two-game losing streak since mid-January.
Kucherov tied the game at 3-3 with just 3:16 remaining in regulation.
The Penguins had built up a 2-0 lead on goals by Brian Dumoulin and Patric Hornqvist, but the never-say-die Lightning needed just 70 seconds to tie the score as Alex Killorn, then Kucherov, beat Fleury. The Penguins regained their advantage on a Chris Kunitz goal in the final minute of the second period.
For the first time in almost two months, Fleury started a game, replacing rookie Matt Murray. Fleury, whose previous start came on March 31, had been out with a concussion, his second of the season. He was cleared to play in the second round against Washington.
Fleury saw his first game action when he entered Game 4 to start the third period in the Penguins 4-3 loss Friday. Pittsburgh was losing 4-0 when Fleury came in.
Murray was 9-4 with a .923 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average in 13 games during this playoff run by the Penguins. Head coach Mike Sullivan could have a decision to make again for Game 6, with the season on the line.
“Lots of things went into the decision,” Sullivan said early Sunday about the goaltending change. “I’d rather not elaborate on the details of it, but certainly we had lengthy discussions.
“It’s an important decision for a hockey team. We’re trying to make the best decision that we can, that we think gives our team the best chance to win. And that’s the route, or the direction, that we chose to take for this game.”