PITTSBURGH _ Don't call it revenge.
That's probably too strong a word to describe how the Penguins are viewing Tuesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But after falling 4-2 Thursday in a game that was, well ... not their best, there is one word to describe it.
"Redemption," forward Jared McCann said. "We've got another shot to show them we got better."
The Lightning bolted to a 2-0, first-period lead in Florida. From there, the Penguins squandered five power play chances, including a 5-on-3.
"It was pretty intense," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "Kind of a playoff-style game against a good team that's opportunistic. I feel like we didn't have a great start. We need to make sure we're better and get a better result."
The Penguins are used to opportunities like this one. They lost to the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 15 and then redeemed themselves exactly one week later at PPG Paints Arena. They lost in Boston on Jan. 16 and then beat the Bruins at home days later. They lost to Philadelphia the final game before the all-star break and then came out of the break to beat their in-state rival.
These bounce-back performances are not limited to just common opponents. You have to go all the way back to the middle of November to find a time when the Penguins lost consecutive games.
"It's good we play them right away like this," defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. "We weren't happy as a team, especially with that first period. It's going to be a great challenge. ... It's going to be another one of those playoff-mindset games. We have a lot of those this last stretch here. We have to make sure we're ready for it."
