FIRST PERIOD

19:55: Off the Penguins' faceoff, Ohlund steps up and pile drives Asham to the ice at the red line with a solid, clean hit after a hospital pass from Letang. Letang owes Asham a beer.

19:24: Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy force a turnover by Gagne below the goal line. Kennedy tries to jam the puck in from the right of the cage but Roloson is able to hold it out with his glove and left leg.

19:10: Ryan Malone whips a heavy wrister on net from the left wing. Fleury kicks it out to the slot. Teddy Purcell is there and jabs a soft wrister on net. Flery kicks that out with his left leg.

18:01: Letang (6-foot-1, 201 pounds) drops Hedman (6-foot-6, 229 pounds) with a hip check in the slot.

17:24: Gagne challenges Ben Lovjeoy one-one-one off the right wing cuts to the slot and releases a wrister. Lojveoy blocks it to the left wing corner. Solid effort by Lovejoy

16:47: Paul Martin snaps off a wrister from the left point. It gets through traffic. Roloson punches it away but allows a juicy rebound in the slot. Conner and Talbot are there but they're bodied away by the Lightning defense.

14:20: Lovejoy collects a puck behind the Penguins net . As soon as he plays it around the boards, BOOM! Lightning forward Steve Downie leaves his feet and charges Lovejoy with a thunderous, dirty hit. What a hack. The NHL doesn't take action on Vancouver's Raffi Torres and less than 24 hours later, we see another dirty hit. And it's not the first time Downie has done that. He smoked Ottawa forward Dean McAmmond a few years ago behidn the net with an even worse hit:

14:14: The Penguins score right after the hit. Talbot coasts up the right wing, controls the puck above the right circle and whips a wrister which beats Roloson on the short side by his glove hand. Conner may have screen Roloson on that. There is no further discipline for Downie as the Penguins scored on a delayed penalty. He should have gotten a major for that. Lovejoy is no worse for wear after the hit. He gets the only assist. Penguins fans on hand are happy. Penguins 1-0.

(Still trying to figure out the flash on our new BlackBerry.)

13:29: And the Penguins are all over the Lightning. Mike Pushes the puck up the right wing, makes a nice move around the slightly bigger  Hedman and coasts up the boards. He whips a backhanded pass to the slot Pavel Kubina slides down in the right circle to block the puck but it sneaks underneath him. Asham is right there on the doorstep and sweeps it by Roloson's right leg with a forehand. Three points in three postseason games for Asham. The guy has come to play. What was Hedman doing against Rupp? The Lightning call a time out to settle things down. Rupp and Letang get assists. Penguins 2-0.

11:57: Gagne chops a shot from the slot. Fleury bodies it towards the right wing corner. Stamkos chases it down and flicks a wrister from a bad angle. Fleury knocks it dead and covers the rebound to freeze play.

11:46: Gagne controls a puck on the left circle and snaps a pass to the slot. Stamkos is there and re-directs it on net. Fleury reads the play all the way and fights off the puck.

11:34: Conner (5-foot-8, 180 pounds) tries to get by Hedman on the right wing boards.  Hedman plants Conner into the boards and to the ice. Oof.

10:36: St. Louis floats a wrister on net from the right. Fleury gloves it.

9:12: Gagne cuts to the slot off the right wing and gets Chris Kunitz's right elbow in his year. That was a stupid penalty. Just stupid. Gagne has a history with concussions. Staal, Pascal Dupuis, Brooks Oprik and Zbynek Michalek take the ice.

8:41: According to Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune, Malone has taken one shift and is not on the Lightning's bench.

7:39: Staal pushes a puck up the right wing shorthanded and taps a backhanded pass to the slot. Adams swats at the feed on a one-time attempt but doesn't hit the puck right and it skids wide to the left of the cage.

7:12: Kunitz's penalty is killed. Not much going on there for the Lightning.

6:40: Off some battling in the right wing corner, Neal deals a pass to Letestu in the right circle. Letestu chops a shot which Roloson fights off. Neal recovers the rebound and has two chances in tight denied. His second was from the left circle. Despite a wide open net, he clunked a wrister off the outside of the post while diving.

6:31: The officials make a baffling call when they send Alex Kovalev to the penalty box for goaltender interference. Ohlund checked him in to Roloson. What a terrible call. Staal, Dupuis, Michalek and Orpik take the ice.

5:53: Brewer flings a wrister on net from the left point. Fleury makes the save. Lecavalier is in front for the rebound. He fights off a stick check from Orpik, spins and pushes the puck on net. Fleury covers to freeze play.

5:31: Michalek settles a bouncing puck above the crease and snaps it down ice.

4:53: Brett Clark guns a slapper from the left point wide to the far side.

4:41: And the Lightning cash in on the gift from the officials. Stamkos sneaks a pass from the left point down low along the goal line to Gagne. Gagne fights off a check from Martin and shuffles a backhander off the near post. It ricochets to St. Louis in the right circle. St. Louis is able to sneak in and floats a backhander over the glove hand of Fleury. Nice dirty goal. Gagne and Stamkos get assists. Penguins 2-1.

3:39: Orpik chops a slapper from the right point wide on the far side.

2:21: Kennedy flicks a backhander on net. Roloson fight it off.

1:24: Malone is fine apparently as he whips a wrister on net from a bad angle. Fleury fights it off.

1:05: Letang chucks a wrister on net from the right point. Roloson eats it up.

1:02: Off a faceoff win, Letang guns a one-timer from above the right circle. Roloson punches it away with his blocker.

0:21: And the Penguins get a chance late in the period. Lecavalier, the captain, give Orpik a love tap into the left wing boards of the Penguins' zone. What a immature penalty. Right in front of an official. He's a captain. He should know better. Michalek, Letang, Kunitz, Staal and Kenned take the ice.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Lightning 1.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-A good response from the Penguins. They cut down on the errors. They have remained disciplined. They haven't taken too many sloppy chances. They've managed the puck well. if the officials don't call a bogus penalty on Kovalev, they still have a shutout.

-The Penguins are missing Matt Cooke. They just haven't been nearly as effective on the penalty kill without him.

-James Neal is getting his chances. He's going to get one eventually.

-Stamkos has been a little bit more noticeable this game than the previous two. The Lightning need him to contribute more.

-The Penguins have a 12-11 edge in shots.

-Michalek leads the game with three.

Lecavalier, Sean Bergenheim, St. Louis and Stamkos leads the Lightning with two each.

-Orpik leads the game with 8:56 of ice time.

-Lecavalier leads the Lightning with 8:39.

-The Penguins have a 12-9 edge in faceoffs (57 percent).

-Letestu is 4 for 4 (100 percent).

-Lecavalier is 5 for 12 (42 percent).

-Lovejoy leads the game with three blocked shots.

-Clark leads the Lightning with two.

-Dan Potash need some Just for Men for that beard:

-Potash reports Malone's return is questionable due to an "upper-body" injury.

20:00: The Penguins will begin the period with 1:40 of power-play time on fresh ice. Michalek, Kovlaev, Letang, Neal and Staal take the ice.

18:34: Letang chops a half-slapper from the right point. Kovalev is positioned to the right of the cage and re-directs it out of play.

18:21: Lecavalier's minor is killed. The Penguins looked a little better with that chance.

17:22: Lecavalier lifts a heavy wrister from the slot. Fleury fights it off with his chest then tries to poke check the rebound away. Lecavalier crashes in as the puck is kicked back on Fleury. Fleury lunges out and covers to freeze play.

16:30: Rupp chases down a puck int he offensive zone, blows by Clark and lifts a backhander on net from the right circle. Roloson fights it off.

15:55: Malone is back once again apparently.

15:41: Purcell floats up the left wing one-on-one with Orpik. He floats a wrister from above the left circle. Fleury eats it up.

14:47: Michalek grips and rips a wrister on net from teh top of the slot. Despite traffic, Roloson challenges and eats up the puck.

14:06: Lovejoy chops a slapper from the right point. Ohlund knocks it down in front.

13:38: Purcell spins off a check from Letang in the left circle and flicks a backhanded pass to Lecavalier streaking towards the back door off the right wing. Lecavalier is there but can't settle the puck enough to get a clean shot off.

13:29: Letang coasts up the left wing and puts a wrister on net. Roloson fights it off. Letang is all over the rebound and pokes it on net. Roloson fights that off as well.

12:39: Brewer is in deep on the right wing and pushes a puck on net from the right circle. Fleury fights it off.

12:19: Downie rips a wrister from the slot. Michalek flps to the ice

12:03: Kubina (6-foot-4, 258 pounds) and Rupp (6-foot-5, 230 pounds) races in after a dump-in behind the Lightning net. Rupp slams him to the boards and dumps him to the ice. That's a lot of meat slamming into the boards.

11:44: Malone pushes the puck up the right wing, cuts around Michalek who flops to the ice for a block attempt, and attacks the net. Malone goes backhand to forehand but loses control of the puck before he can pull the trigger.

10:55: Purcell snaps off a wrister from the slot juuuuuust wide to the right of the cage.

10:34: Purcell snap off a wrister from the left wing. Fleury bodies it away.

9:54: Orpik recovers a puck behind the net. Tyrell comes in on a forecheck and appears to get Orpik up high. Orpik holds his face and is stunned a bit. Orpik's appeared to smack his head off the boards. It was a clean hit.

9:42: Nate Thompson challenges Orpik one-one-one to the right of the cage. He makes his move but Orpik poke checks the puck away.

6:35: After a stagnant three minutes, Stamkos spins off the left wall and flings a wrister to the far side. Fleury kicks it out with his left foot.

5:11: Michalek guns a one-timer from the right point weeelllll wide to the near side.

4:13: Matt Lundin hustles after a puck behind the Lightning net. He feels pressure from Neal on a backcheck and flings a poor wraparound the right wing boards. Orpik traps it and chucks it on net. Roloson eats it up.

3:42: Asham stands up Adam Hall in front of the Lightning bench. Hall gives him a jab back. Asham gives a shove in return. Rupp and Kubina mix it up a bit. Nothing comes of it.

3:21: Dupuis forces a turnover by Downie at the left point of the Lightnign zone. The puck rattles around a bit before Dupuis is able to jump on it from right circle and fling a backhander wide to the far side.

3:17: Downie is nabbed for delay of game after he put the puck out of play. Letang, Michalek, Staal, Neal and Kovalev tak teh ice.

3:00: Letang flicks a wrister from the right point. it hits off Neal's skatethen Staal's skate and into Roloson's five hole. Roloson squeezes his legs and holds the puck out.

2:50: Off a faceoff win by Staal in the right circle, Kovalev guns a one-timer from the right half wall. Roloson makes the inital save. Neal is there for the rebound to the right of the cage but can't lift the puck and is robbed by Roloson's left pad. Argh. Neal needs to bury that. Inexcusable.

2:36: Staal floats a wrister from the right circle wide to the far side.

1:17: Downie's minor is killed. The Penguins missed an opportunity there.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Lightning 1.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-That was a pretty fun 20 minutes despite no score. There was plenty of skating. Lots of up and down action. Plenty of scoring chances and more than little hitting.

-The Penguins have quietly controlled this game for the most part. They just haven't cashed in all their chances.

-Neal has had two beautiful chances for goals in tight and he hasn't buried them. Just inexcusable.

-Is it us, or has Tyler Kennedy been rather quiet so far in the postseason?

-Malone only had four shifts in the second period. Something is clearly not right with him.

-The Penguins have a 21-17 lead in shots.

-Letang and Michalek lead the game with five shots each.

-Lecavalier leads the Lightning with four.

-Michalek leads the game with 17:24 of ice time.

-St. Louis leads the Lightning with 15:06.

-The Lightning has a 23-22 edge in faceoffs (51 percent).

-Talbot is 7 for 10 (70 percent).

-Stamkos is 5 for 8 (63 percent).

-Lovejoy and Ohlund each lead the game with three blocked shots.

-Oprik stares intensely into the middle distance:

19:30: The Lightning employ an all ex-Penguins line of Adam Hall, Dominic Moore and Ryan Malone.

18:04: Brewer has a chance with a wrister from above the let circle. Brewer lifts his shot. Fleury eats it up.

17:46: Ummm... The Penguins should quit putting the Lightning players on the power play. It's kind of good. Brewer floats a wrister from the left half wall. Fleury manages to fight it off despite a re-direction by Lecavalier. Fleury kicks it out to the right circle. St. Louis sneaks in and punches it by the glove hand of a scrambling Fleury. The Penguisn miss Matt Cooke badly. Lecavalier and Brewer get assists. Lightning 2, Penguins 2.

17:17: Welcome back to the score sheet Tyler Kennedy. Off a faocef win by Staal in the left circle, Orpik guns a one-timer from the left point. It hits a body in front. Staal and Kunitz crash in. Kennedy locates the loose puck and is able to snap it with a forehand over by the blocker of Roloson. Big response by the Penguins. Orpik and Letang get assists. More happy Penguins fans in the building. Penguins 3-2.

16:10: Off a faceoff win, Clark pumps a slapper from the right point wide on the near side.

14:48: Asham whips a wrister on net from the left circle. Roloson fights it off.

14:12: With a train wreck in the Penguins' crease, the puck skids loose in the slot. Malone jumps on it and has a prime chance to score but Rupp back check and slams Malone to the ice preventing the shot. Malone and Rupp mix it up on the ice. Rupp is sent off for roughing Malone. Great play to prevent the shot but selfish play to slug Malone on the ice. TheStaal, Talbot, Michake and Orpik take the ice.

13:30: Stamkos fans on a one-timer at the right poitn. The puck slides right to the stick of Staal. Staal pushes the puck up ice and dumps it into the right wing corner of the Lighting's zone to get a line change.

12:32: Kubina, who has a real cannon, guns a slapper from the right point. Dupuis challenges and blocks it. That took some guts.

12:12: Rupp's minor is killed. That was a huge effort by the Penguins.

11:14: After Conner forces Hedman into a turnover in the right wing corner, Conner has a prime chance in tight but is robbed by Roloson's right leg.

9:56: Lundin corrals a loose puck at the left point. He winds up and guns a slapper which hits Rupp in front.

9:13: Purcell circles around the offensive zone off the left wing and chucks a wrister at the cage from the top of the slot. Fleury kicks it out despite traffic.

8:23: A puck takes a funny bounce right to Bergeheim on the right wing. None of the Penguins' skaters seem to know the puck is. Fortunately for them, Fleury does. Bergenheim winds up and guns a slapper from the left circle. Fleury is in perfect position, challenges the shot and fights it off with his left shoulder.

6:55: After an icing, the Penguins call a time out to get a breather.

5:51: Off a turnover by the Penguins, Bergenehim snaps off a writser from the right circle to the far side. Fleury kick it out with his right foot.

4:20: Dupuis re-directs a pass from the Penguins' zone to the neutral zone down to  the Lightning's zone. The Penguins are just dumping and changing lines at the point.

2:25: After a turnover by Martin in the neutral zone, Hedman guns a one-timer from the left point. Conner slides down and blocks the blast. Oof. Martin owes Conner a beer.

1:20: Martin settles a dump in above the right wing circle and immediately hurries a pass to Kunitz on the left wing in the neutral zone. It misses Kunitz and slide to the Lightning's zone. That's icing. Roloson leaves the ice for an extra attacker with the faceoff in the Penguins' zone.

0:30: Michalek chops a loose puck out of midair along the righ twing wall out of the pneguins; zone

0:16: Stamkos has a chance from the right circle blocked by Orpik. Huge block.

0:06: Off a scramble in the crease, Moore attempts a re-directs but can't get a clean stick on the puck.

0:01: Brewer snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Adams slides out to block it.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 3, Lightning 2.

POSTGAME

-That was nerve-wracking huh? A classic tight, hard-fought, fierce playoff battle.

-The Penguins did a good job of limiting their mistakes tonight. After playing sloppy and undisciplined in Game 2, the Penguins cut down on turnovers and penalties for this game. As long as they limit the Lightning's chances, they can win this series.

-The penalty kill is an issue. It has been since Matt Cooke was suspended. The Lightning has eaten up many of the power play chances it has gotten. They have made the Penguins' top-ranked penalty kill unit look awful through three games.

-The Penguins' top four defensemen were the story of this game if you ask us. The Penguins leaned heavily on Letang, Martin, Michalek and Orpik. And those four responded well by limiting the scoring chances players like St. Louis, Stamkos and St. Louis saw.

-Talbot played his best game of the series. Even beyond his goal, he was everywhere in the offensive zone pestering the Lightning's defense with a forecheck and created a few scoring chances. And the team is now 11-1 when he scores a postseason goal.

-Regarding the hits in the first period - Downie on Lovejoy and Kunitz on Gagne - both deserve a suspension. But in this garage league, both of those two might get nominated for player of the week.

-Downie's hit:

-And Kunitz:

-Stupid. Just stupid.

-What do you say about Arron Asham? Three points in three games. You could argue he's been the Penguins' best forward so far in the postseason?

-Fleury rebounded well after a poor effort in Game 2. He let in a few iffy goals Friday. Tonight, he rebound with a strong effort. Neither of the goals he allowed tonight, both on the power play, were soft.

-Roloson looked awfully ordinary after a strong Game 2.

-It's hard to really judge the Penguins' power play given that it only had two chances. They looked somewhat competent in regard to at least gaining the zone, which is progress for this sad crew, but they were mostly ineffective once again.

-The first line of Kovalev, Letestu and Neal offered very little once again.

-Kennedy came up big obviously after being quiet for the first two games of the series.

-The Penguins led in shots, 30-27.

-Letang, Michalek, Kennedy and Lecavalier each led the game with five shots on goal.

-Michalek led the game with 27:27 of ice time.

-St. Louis led the Lightning with 24:16.

-The Penguins had a 36-35 advantage in faceoffs (51 percent).

-Talbot was 10 for 18 (56 percent).

-Lecavalier was 16 for 29 (55 percent).

-Lovejoy led the game with four blocked shots.

-Ohlund and Hedman each led the Lightning with three blocked shots.

-Kennedy now has four postseason goals since 2007-08. Only Evgeni Malkin (seven) has more for the Penguins since then.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.