Ben Lovejoy

TAMPA -- The morning after being on the receiving end of the hardest hit he's taken as a professional, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy was all smiles. Not that his collision with Tampa Bay's Steve Downie behind his own goal cage in the early stages of Game 3 here at St. Pete Times Forum was an enjoyable experience; rather, he was clearly thrilled with the end result. Lovejoy was aware he'd have to take a hit in order to not only clear the puck out of his end, but send teammate Maxime Talbot down right wing off the transition. Downie did, indeed, level Lovejoy and a delayed penalty called was never officially needed since Talbot eventually beat Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson off a snap shot from the right circle. It was a goal that basically enabled the Penguins to set the tempo for a 3-2 victory that gave them a 2-1 lead in this best-of-7 series that resumes Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. "It was a huge play," Talbot said. "These are the plays that need to be made to get some goal...

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