Tristan Jarry had 26 saves, Danton Heinen and Brian Boyle scored early second-period goals, and the short-handed Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 in the regular-season opener on Tuesday night.
Tampa Bay got goals from Anthony Cirelli and Andrew Killorn, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 29 shots.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance as Tampa Bay unveiled its 2020-21 Stanley Cup banner during a pregame ceremony. The Lightning have won two consecutive titles following pandemic-impacted and abbreviated regular seasons.
WATCH | Lightning raise 2021 Stanley Cup banner:
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Before opening the 2021-2022 season at home, the Tampa Bay Lightning raise their 2021 Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters of Amalie Arena. 2:20
Jarry turned aside Brayden Point’s low slot shot during the game’s first power play midway through the second.
Heinen and Boyle put the Penguins up 2-0 with goals in the first 4:11 of the second.
Jeff Carter stole Vasilevskiy’s clearing attempt behind the net and set up Heinen’s goal 12 seconds in. Boyle, who signed a $750,000 US, one-year contract before the game after coming to training camp on a tryout offer, scored from the low slot at 4:11. The 12-year veteran last played with Florida in 2019-20.
WATCH | Boyle lifts Penguins over Lightning:
A new season is upon us, and Rob Pizzo gets you caught up on a very busy offseason. 2:04
Simon made it 3-0 when his long-range shot eluded Vasilevskiy with 8:28 left in the third. It was his first goal since Feb. 2, 2020.
Killorn got another Lightning goal with the extra attacker but Rodrigues and Rust got the Penguins’ second and third empty-net goals.
Pittsburgh outshot the Lightning 14-7 in the first period. Simon had his in-close chance stopped during a 2-on-1 by Vasilevskiy, and Rodrigues lost control of the puck on a breakaway.