PITTSBURGH _ Jason Zucker looked good in his first game in black and gold and Matt Murray delivered another strong performance. But the Penguins lost, 2-1, in overtime at PPG Paints Arena to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who swept them this season.
In the OT, the Penguins couldn't get tired bodies off the ice. And after Murray made a big save on Victor Hedman on a 2-on-1, Gourde snapped a shot under the bar to give the Lightning their second win against the Penguins in five days.
The Penguins had won eight of their last nine games that went to overtime.
Zucker made his Penguins debut Tuesday, a day after they acquired him from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk, top prospect Calen Addison and a first-round pick. The speedy two-way winger in a span of 24 hours went from playing for a likely lottery team to skating on Sidney Crosby's left wing.
Zucker, who was given a warm welcome from Penguins fans when announced as a starter, looked a little tentative early. That was understandable given he has yet to practice with the Penguins and met the team hours before the game.
But as the night went on, the 28-year-old winger seemed to settle in and started to display some chemistry with Crosby, his center for the foreseeable future.
In the first period, he couldn't redirect a skipping pass behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. Getting power play time in the second, Zucker got a great look from the slot but the goalie kicked that one out. He showed off his wheels later in that period while driving the net but couldn't get a shot off after Crosby snapped a pass to him.
Zucker had a chance to put the Penguins on top with just over 11 minutes left in the third period, but Vasilevskiy scrambled to smother his low-angle shot.
He finished with five shots on goal in 14 minutes, 26 seconds of ice time.
The Lightning kept Murray busy in the early going, putting 13 shots on goal in the first 11 minutes. But Murray made a few quality saves to keep the visitors off the board, and then Evgeni Malkin got the first goal of the game.
The Penguins scored on the power play for the second straight game by keeping their feet and the puck moving on their first opportunity of the night. That led to a one-timer for Crosby. Vasilevskiy made that save, but the rebound bounced off his pad to Malkin, who from the left dot roofed a shot over his right shoulder.
The Lightning tied it up early in the second period with a power-play goal of their own. With a few bodies in front of Murray, Mikhail Sergachev flipped a shot from the point on goal that Murray didn't see until it was floating past his blocker.
That snapped a streak of 13 straight penalties killed for the Penguins, including three in their last game, a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Moments later, Jared McCann and Bryan Rust charged in on a 2-on-1. McCann sent a saucer pass across to Rust, who clanged a shot off the crossbar. It was one of three times the Penguins would hit the post after the Lightning tied it.
After the Penguins were unable to take advantage of a power play late in the third period, the game went to 3-on-3 overtime. With Malkin gassed and unable to get to the far bench, the Lightning defeated the Penguins again.
The Penguins lost, 4-2, to the Lightning in Tampa, Fla. on Thursday. Murray was between the pipes in that game. Despite having his personal winning streak snapped at six games, he played well, stopping 25 of 28 shots. That was surely a factor in coach Mike Sullivan going back to him in Tuesday's rematch.
Murray made 36 saves in the loss. Vasilevskiy was better, stopping 35 shots.
The Penguins fell to 12-2-2 in their last 15 home games dating back to Nov. 22.
Tuesday's game was the first of a four-game home stand at PPG Paints Arena. They are next on the ice Friday, when they host the Montreal Canadiens.
