On the brink: OT loss puts Lightning in 3-1 series hole

Overtime playoff hockey provides edge-of-your-seat anticipation with each shot, followed by oohs and aahs emanating from the crowd just waiting for that one moment to erupt.

The drama of an overtime playoff game can take your breath away with each passing second after regulation ends. But when a double-overtime thriller goes the other way, well, it can take your breath away for another reason, and that's exactly what the Tampa Bay Lightning experienced Wednesday, that feeling of a punch to the gut that can knock the wind out of you and leave you on the ground looking for answers.

Pittsburgh's James Neal fired a shot from a tough angle along the right boards 3:38 into the second overtime that went off the glove of Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson, giving the Penguins a second consecutive 3-2 victory in Tampa and zapping the energy out of the sellout crowd of 20,326 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"It was off my glove; one of those things that happens,'' Roloson said. "That's what happens when you put pucks on net. That's playoff hockey. It goes off of people, off of bodies. It's part of the game. You never know when you throw pucks on net.''

The Penguins seized control of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal with a 3-1 series lead. Pittsburgh has a chance to close out the series Saturday at Consol Energy Center. The Lightning have the odds stacked against them heading into Game 5, as only 23 times in 240 occasions (9.6 percent) has a team come back when trailing 3-1 in a series.

Arron Asham had his third goal of the series for Pittsburgh, while Tyler Kennedy scored the Penguins' first power-play goal in four games and Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves.

Tampa Bay received goals from Marty St. Louis and a tying goal from Sean Bergenheim with 3:17 left in regulation to send the game to overtime.

But giving up the winning goal was a difficult way to end the night for Roloson and the Lightning, who fought back from two goals down for the second consecutive game only to fall short. For Roloson, it spoiled a 50-save effort in the longest home playoff game in franchise history, and Roloson was a big part of allowing the game to go as deep as it did.

"You feel bad, because he played so well for us, especially in the first overtime, he made some big saves to keep us in the game, and even in the third he made some big stops to keep us in the game,'' left wing Simon Gagne said. "But it's not his fault; he battled hard for us, he helped us to go that far into the second overtime. And those shots, you never know.''

Not getting enough shots on net has been a theme for Tampa Bay throughout the series. Wednesday, the Lightning were outshot 53-31 in the game and 40-22 through regulation. And it was a shot that wasn't even an attempt to score, but an attempt to put one in the crease area to see what happened.

"You know, that's been the focus of a lot of our meetings. Guys are teeing it up, trying to aim all the time,'' Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. "A lot of times we're waiting for a perfect opportunity, and you can't do that against this goalie. You have to grind it out and get a lot of shots on net. That's how they won the overtime. It's a shot, they don't look where they're shooting and it goes in. That's what the playoffs are about. That's why their forwards are doing so well. It's not a secret.''

In a game that Tampa Bay felt it had to have, the Lightning looked flat and listless for the first 30-plus minutes as the Penguins clamped down every time Tampa Bay tried to enter the Pittsburgh zone.

Down by two goals and looking all but out of the game, St. Louis scored his third goal of the series at 17:14 of the second period to provide a spark before Bergenheim tied it late.

"We did a lot of good things, but we just didn't shoot the puck enough,'' said defenseman Eric Brewer, who led all Lightning players with 34:51 of ice time. "There was plenty out there for us, we had tons of chances, we just didn't find a way to get it done.''

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