Penguins Strike Lightning, Win 5th Straight, 4-1

So much for the theory that a team coming off a long road trip to play its first game at home is vulerable to a letdown.

The Pittsburgh Penguins used the exact same formula they used during their previous 4-game road trip sweep -- play sound defense, get contributions from everyone -- to easily defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning at Mellon Arena last night, 4-1.

It was the Penguins' fifth straight victory, and pushed them to 7-1 on the young season, still at the top of the National Hockey League and the Atlantic Division, tied with the New York Rangers, who have the exact same mark.

Sergei Gonchar paced the Pens' last night with a goal and an assist.

In fact, the entire Penguins' defense put on a strong performance. Everyone seemed to be contributing, whether shooting the biscuit, skating up and down the ice, blocking shots, making cross-ice backhand passes on the tape, or just plain controlling the puck at the Lightning expense.

Jay McKee, in particular, had a real strong game last night. He blocked 7 shots, to raise his league-leading total to 29.

Bill Guerin, Pascal Dupuis and Mike Rupp got the other Penguin goals.

Sidney Crosby had 2 assists.

Tampa really had little chance last night. Guerin and Gonchar stoked the Pens' to a 2-0 first period lead. Then, the closest the Lightning got was when the game was 2-1 in the 2nd period after a goal by Steve Stamkos.

But that margin only lasted a few more minutes until the Dupuis goal and, at the end of the 2nd period, the Penguins were outshooting Tampa Bay 24-13.

Whatever chances the Lightning had in the 3rd were snuffed out by Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 22 total saves in the contest in remaining undefeated on the season with a 7-0 record.

Rupp's goal in the 3rd, by the way, was another sweet marker, pinpointing a wrister from 20 feet to the far side past Tampa Bay goaltender Antero Nittymaki.

That followed up Rupp's beautiful goal against the Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

The Penguins are in the middle of a 5-game homestand, which they continue Tuesday night against the upstart St. Louis Blues in a nationally televised contest on Versus at 7 PM.

The Penguins look pretty sharp right now. Let's hope they can ride this streak for as long as they can, because the points count now as much as they do in February or March.

More this week.