For Tampa Bay, it was a chance to savor its 5-1 victory in Game 2 of the first round Friday night. For Pittsburgh, an opportunity to reflect on all that went wrong in that game.

For players on both teams, having a day without practice Saturday was a luxury born of having two days between games, an arrangement made necessary because there were concerts booked at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa Saturday and Sunday nights.

That means Game 3 of the Lightning-Penguins series, which is tied 1-1, can't be played until Monday evening.

Whether the long-than-usual time between games will benefit one team of the other is impossible to predict, but no one seems terribly upset with the scheduling.

"I don't think it's a bad thing," Lightning left winger Ryan Malone said.

It's also not the only time this will happen during the series; there will be two off-days between Games 4 and 5, as well.

"It's different, obviously," Pittsburgh center Jordan Staal said. "It's usually an every-second-day type thing, but both teams are in the same situation."

The Penguins, it should be noted, had a team meeting to review the many things they did poorly in Game 2, although no one went on the ice.

Both teams playing physical

Tampa Bay outhit Pittsburgh, 44-35, in Game 1, and was outhit, 36-27, Friday night.

But while playing the body is an integral part of the Lightning's strategy, coach Guy Boucher noted that it can become too much of a priority at times.

"When you throw the body that often (as in Game 1), you forget the puck sometimes," he said.
Perhaps, but that wasn't an issue 48 hours later, and the Lightning isn't going to alter its approach now.

"We will have to be physical," Boucher said. "Were not going to change that. We won like that all year long."

And the team that gets the better of the physical play in this series has a pretty good chance of being the one that advances to the second round.

"Both teams are trying to wear teams down through the course of a couple of weeks," Lightning defenseman Eric Brewer said. "It is important to make skilled guys stop and have to reload and start and stop all the time, as opposed to just continuing their speed and keeping the rhythm they have.

"A lot of times a big hit, at the expense of puck-moving, isn't always the greatest play, but we have to balance that."

Neal optimistic about scoring

Pittsburgh acquired left winger James Neal from Dallas as the trade deadline approached because it wanted to enhance its goal-scoring.

That hasn't happened so far, however. Neal got just one goal in 20 regular-season games with the Penguins, and has been shut out by the Lightning, despite recording a half-dozen shots on goal in the first two games.

"It's frustrating," he said. "Obviously you want to score, and help the team win. ... "I've had chances. They're going to go in."

Hall vital to Lightning's penalty kill

Adam Hall isn't one of the more prominent members of Tampa Bay's lineup, but he's a pretty valuable role player.

He is part of the Lightning's penalty-killing unit that has shut out the Penguins through the first two games, and has played an effective blue-collar game.

"Adam's a guy who does all the little things that make a team, a team," Tampa Bay center Dominic Moore said. "He's a character guy, a guy who takes pride in doing those little things and sacrificing his body every night. It's not an easy job, and he does it really well. He's been an important contributor all season."

That's a significant change from 2010-11, which he spent in the American Hockey League.

"There was a situation last year where I was coming off off-season surgery," Hall said. "I worked really hard this summer to get back from it. Sometimes things happen that don't work out the way you'd want them to.

"But you just try to control what you can, learn and grow and work hard. I came back this year at training camp and felt the best I have in years. Obviously, we have a lot of new coaches and staff, and a lot of new faces on the team as well.

"You put it all on the line every day and try to prove to people that you (deserve) to be here, and that you want to be here. Make people believe in you all over again."

Penguins surprised

After shutting out Tampa Bay in Game 1, the Penguins didn't anticipate falling behind by two goals in the first seven minutes of Game 2.

And almost no one expected them to lose their focus and composure the way they did in the first period Friday night, when Lightning players like Moore clearly got under some of the Penguins' skin and, in the process, got them off their game.

"It is a bit of a surprise, considering how soon it happened in the game and how our guys played the first game," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said Saturday. "One of the strengths of our first game was the composure on our bench throughout the game.

"It was apparent in the last game, starting very early in the first and for a stretch after that, (Tampa Bay) getting the goal (at 2:02 of the opening period) and then a power-play goal after that, we were a little bit not on our game and a little bit distracted by people and other events going on on the ice.

"Not focused on getting to our game. It wasn't until the second that we were able to regain that and at that point in time, we were certainly fighting an uphill battle."