Penguins rookie goaltender Matt Murray overcame a shaky start to finish with 19 saves as Pittsburgh improved to 3-1 in overtime during the playoffs.
Tampa Bay’s Anton Stralman scored in his return to the lineup from a fractured left leg and Jonathan Drouin picked up his second goal in two games, but the Lightning lost for just the third time in 12 postseason games.
Stralman collected a cross-ice feed from Jonathan Marchessault and lifted the puck over Murray’s outstretched glove to cut the lead in half with 3:23 to go in the first and Drouin’s knuckler from the right circle tied it with 70 seconds remaining.
The opener included a pair of illegal hits, including Tampa Bay forward Ryan Callahan sending an elbow into the back of defenseman Brian Dumoulin’s neck, sending him head-first into the boards and setting a surprisingly chippy tone for two teams that have little playoff history.
Making just his second career playoff start with Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop out indefinitely with a left leg injury, Vasilevskiy — who is two months younger than Murray — gathered himself after Pittsburgh’s early barrage and played brilliantly at times.
