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.