Peter Diana, Post-Gazette photos Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save with his stick hand in the first period against the Lightning last night at Mellon Arena.

By Dave Molinari
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sidney Crosby has scored 59 goals since he entered the NHL. He'll get hundreds more before he retires.

Some might be more spectacular than the one he got in the waning seconds of the second period of the Penguins' 3-2 shootout loss against Tampa Bay at Mellon Arena last night.

	Mark Recchi argues that his goal was good late in the third period with linesman Jonny Murray. The play was ruled a goal after a review. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Penguins Notebook: Staal feeling secure after 40th game Fans show up early to support Penguins

A few almost certainly will.

But not many. And not by much.

The Penguins were trailing, 1-0, when he and Mark Recchi got a two-on-one break against Lightning defenseman Cory Sarich.

Recchi carried the puck down the right side and threw it toward the net, where Crosby -- sliding on his left side -- managed to not only get his stick on the shot, but to get it over the outstretched right leg of Lightning goalie Johan Holmqvist.

"I told him that if I had known he was falling like that, I probably wouldn't have passed it," Recchi said. "But obviously, he's a special player."

Uh, yeah. Crosby pulled off the kind of play only a handful of players would even try, and that even fewer could execute. And made it look effortless.

"I tried to go on my knees, so I could find where the puck was coming from," he said. "I got a better look at the puck and it was going a little bit ahead [of him], so I just reached for it.

"I tried to angle my stick up so the puck would get up, but I wasn't sure if it was going to go in."

It did, but Holmqvist got his revenge during the shootout, when he stopped Crosby after denying Erik Christensen and Evgeni Malkin. Martin St. Louis was the only Tampa Bay shooter to beat Marc-Andre Fleury, who turned aside Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards.

St. Louis scored when he moved down the slot, then stopped in front of Fleury with the puck on his backhand but, instead of pulling it onto his forehand or trying to stick a shot high in the net, which Fleury expected, he tossed a backhander between Fleury's legs.

"I was just trying to do something a little different, maybe something he doesn't see too often," St. Louis said.

Sidney Crosby is upended by the Lightning's Nolan Pratt in the third period last night at Mellon Arena. Click photo for larger image.

The loss ended the Penguins' three-game winning streak and dropped their record to 18-15-7, and was a fair payback for their least-inspired effort during the past four games.

"System-wise, we were OK, but our battle level wasn't at the same intensity it was [during a 4-2 victory in] Buffalo," Crosby said. "Why, I'm not really sure."

The teams combined for just 11 shots during the opening period, but Fleury was forced to make a sensational stop on one of them.

Lecavalier, who clinched the Lightning's 4-3 overtime victory at Mellon Arena Nov. 8 by beating Fleury on a breakaway, had a similar opportunity with just under four minutes to go before intermission.

This time, however, Fleury was able to get his right leg on Lecavalier's shot, inspiring a loud ovation and chant of "Flur-ee, Flur-ee" from the standing-room crowd of 17,132.

The Penguins got through a hooking penalty to Sergei Gonchar early in the second period unscathed, but paid for an interference minor assessed to Malkin at 6:33.

Mark Recchi waves to the crowd after scoring his 1,300th career point in the third period. Click photo for larger image.

Just 36 seconds into the resultant power play, Ryan Craig threw a St. Louis rebound off the skate of defenseman Josef Melichar and into the net.

Crosby's goal in the waning seconds of the second pulled the Penguins even, but Nick Tarnasky put the Lightning back in front at 14:04 of the third, when he collected his own rebound and tossed a shot past Fleury from above the left hash.

The Penguins, though, were able to force overtime when Recchi got his first goal in nine games -- and his 1,300th point in the NHL -- at 17:27, although it took a video review to get the goal on the books.

Tampa Bay defenseman Nolan Pratt was in the penalty box when Crosby threw a pass to Recchi in front of the net. The puck caromed off Recchi's left skate and was headed across the crease when it struck Sarich's left skate and skidded past Holmqvist.

The referee stationed behind the net gestured emphatically that it was a non-goal, presumably because he felt Recchi had kicked the puck in, but replays showed that Recchi did not use the distinct kicking motion required by league rules and that, even if he had, the puck hit Sarich before entering the net.

That goal got the Penguins a point, but the reality is that they probably didn't deserve a second.

"We had three great games before this, with a lot of hop," Recchi said. "We definitely didn't have it tonight."