TAMPA, Fla. _ About a minute and a half into the second period of Saturday's game at Amalie Arena, Antti Niemi removed his mask and took a drink of water, as Lighting winger Nikita Kucherov zoomed past following a whistle.
It would have been perfectly understandable for Niemi to peer into his net, fearful there was a puck there, the same thing he experienced for much of the evening.
Niemi and the Penguins followed a familiar script during a 7-1 loss to the high-powered Lightning: Playing on a second consecutive night, they weren't very good in front of Niemi, but he also did little to help himself.
In fact, one has to wonder whether we've seen the last of the goaltender the Penguins acquired on July 1 for $700,000 as Marc-Andre Fleury's replacement. Could Tristan Jarry really perform worse?
The second nights of back-to-backs haven't sat well with the Penguins as a team, to be fair. They're now 0-3 in those circumstances, having lost 10-1, 5-4 and 7-1.
Team defense has lacked. Decisions with the puck have been suspect. And the barrage of questions over how to function better while facing short rest and travel together only figure to intensify.
Perhaps it was appropriate, too, that the stoppage in play mentioned above occurred because of a hooking call on Greg McKegg. Penalties, specifically stick infractions, have become a bigger issue, and what transpired here Saturday did little to ease any frustration.
But the NHL generally pumps the brakes on the penalty calls. Players adjust. Having a backup goaltender who's a liability is a legitimate problem, and the Penguins are staring that in the face.
When Brayden Point scored 30 seconds into the second period _ finishing his own rebound and turning this one into a full-blown laughter _ it was the 13th goal Niemi had allowed in his first 88:38 as a Penguin.
Have they all been Niemi's fault? Hardly. But sooner or later, you have to make a save. It doesn't hurt to do so when your team's tired, playing the second night in a row and looking for a spark, either.
The other issue that Niemi's wobbliness has created involved Matt Murray's off nights. Essentially, when is he supposed to sit on a stool, toss a towel around his neck and relax?
Answer: Never.
Of course, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan had no desire to chase this one. Four, five, six, seven goals ... Murray stayed on his stool, the coach trying to save wear and tear on the bullpen.
This isn't close to what the Penguins envisioned when they signed Niemi, who was bought out by Dallas because he was so bad.
After the signing, general manager Jim Rutherford insisted that goaltending coach Mike Buckley thought he could help Niemi, whose numbers last season were horrific. Niemi's goals-against average of 3.30 was last among qualifying goaltenders, his .892 save percentage second-worst. Both look like more than aberrations at this point.
The goaltending position wasn't the only bit of bad news to come out of this one, either.
Carter Rowney, who had his best game of the season and scored a goal Friday in South Florida, was hurt blocking a shot in the first period and did not return.
The penalty kill coughed up multiple goals for the third time in the past five games, while the Penguins showed nothing that could've passed for solid, consistent defensive pressure.
Any shred of a turning point came at the end of the first period. Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made a terrific save on Carl Hagelin, and Yanni Gourde backhanded a rebound past Niemi with less than a second on the clock.
That goal wasn't a great one for Niemi to allow. Ditto for Anton Stralman whipping a shot from the top of the left circle to make it 5-0, and Nikita Kucherov beating Niemi five-hole from a tough angle for his second of the game and 10th of the season.
A night after Ian Cole was penalized seven seconds into a 4-3 win at Florida, Crosby did something similar Saturday. Only instead of just a cross-checking call, Crosby also incurred a 10-minute misconduct, the third of his career, for arguing.
With Crosby in the box, Kucherov faked a shot from atop the right circle, headed toward the slot and beat Niemi to the short side at 1:36, the first of several times the Lightning victimized Niemi's glove.
Tampa stretched its lead to 2-0 on a gorgeous setup by Vladislav Namestnikov. After taking a Kucherov pass, Namestnikov spun and delivered a feed on the tape of Steven Stamkos, who had four points and finished the game atop the NHL's scoring list with 18 points.
Stamkos' tally gave the Lightning four power-play goals in the previous four periods of play against the Penguins, as Kris Letang was in the box for slashing whenever that happened.
After a lopsided loss, it doesn't get any easier for the Penguins, either. They're off Sunday and practice Monday before hosting the Edmonton Oilers _ and Connor McDavid _ on Tuesday.
