Palat strikes twice as Lightning surge ahead

Ondrej Palat scored twice in the first 3:19 of the game Wednesday night, and the Lightning beat the host Bruins 4-1 to open a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots for the Lightning, who have won two straight since losing the series opener at home.

Anthony Cirelli scored his first career NHL playoff goal — with an assist from Yanni Gourde, whose wife gave birth on Tuesday — giving the Lightning a 3-1 lead late in the first.

Patrice Bergeron scored his fourth goal of the playoffs for the Bruins, and Tuukka Rask made 33 saves.

Game 4 is Friday night.

As a handful of Penguins trickled onto the ice for an optional morning skate at the team’s practice facility on Wednesday morning, they found themselves in an unfamiliar place.

It was less than 14 hours after they had suffered a crushing 4-3 loss in Game 3 to the Capitals, who are just the second team in as many years to own a playoff series lead over the two-time defending champions.

The Penguins had found themselves chasing the Capitals in Games 1 and 2 after slow starts in each, and finds themselves in the rare position of chasing in the series.

It is reminiscent of the 2-1 hole the Penguins fell into in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Senators, which set up a pressure-packed Game 4 in that series. The Penguins won that game 3-2, a pivotal response as they outlasted the Senators in seven games before ousting the Predators in the Stanley Cup Final.

Thursday’s Game 4 against the Capitals carries similar stakes, so Wednesday for some players was a chance to work on their shortcomings and find full closure after Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin had shocked them in their own building with a game-winning goal with 67 seconds left on Tuesday night.

“It’s good to be out there. I mean, especially after a game if there’s things you want to work on,” said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who was one of the few players to skate Wednesday. “You know when there’s kind of a lower number of guys you get to do a little bit more out there sometimes.”

The Penguins couldn’t protect 2-1 and 3-2 leads Tuesday. That seemed out of character for a team that is chasing a third straight title.

“We have lots of experience to draw on, and circumstances,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “It’s hard to win in the playoffs. You’re going to go through emotional highs and lows. Right now, our eyes are on Game 4.”