The Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins are scoreless after one period of Game 1 in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.
The Lightning outshot the Penguins 14-10 in the first period and had the better scoring chances overall, though both teams were successful in keeping each other out of the prime scoring areas. The Lightning’s game plan appears to be getting shots on Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, and then trying to capitalize on rebounds and traffic in front. Tampa Bay’s best scoring chance was a 2-on-1 where defenseman Brett Clark decided to shoot instead of passing to an open Martin St. Louis on his right. They also nearly scored on a low shot by Eric Brewer from the top of the slot that changed direction twice. Dominic Moore briefly started celebrating, thinking Brewer’s shot had gone in, and then Ryan Malone spotted the puck loose in the crease and tried a shot from a bad angle that was kicked away by Fleury.
Pittsburgh had three power plays in the first period, but did not have any quality scoring chances. Their best shot of the period was a shot off the outside of the post by Tyler Kennedy from the left faceoff circle.
One thing to keep an eye on – the ice does not appear to be in great shape. The puck bounced quite a bit during the first period, and some squeegee work was needed around the Penguins net before the second period began.