Pens pull away in opener vs. Lightning

Alex Kovalev and Arron Asham scored third-period goals 18 seconds apart and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots to lead the host Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first-round playoff opener last night.

Chris Kunitz sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final minute in the Penguins' first postseason game in their new arena. Brooks Orpik, who had two assists, opened the game with a heavy and clean check on Lightning star Steven Stamkos.

Fleury made spectacular saves -- including a blind stop on former Penguins forward Ryan Malone in the first period -- and shut down the Lightning's high-powered offense. Fleury earned his fifth playoff shutout, one short of tying Tom Barrasso's franchise record.

The Lightning were held scoreless following a regular season in which they finished second in the Eastern Conference with 247 goals. Fifth-seeded Tampa Bay is in the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

The fourth-seeded Penguins seized the momentum by outshooting the Lightning 18-7 in the second period, and carried it into the third in the first playoff meeting between the teams.

Kovalev made it 1-0 at 6:05 of the third on a bit of a broken play after he was tripped in the corner by Tampa Bay's Pavel Kubina. With the crowd booing the lack of a penalty call, Penguins forward James Neal got the puck at the left point and fed Kovalev, who one-timed a shot shortly after he got back up.

With the arena still buzzing, Asham doubled the lead with an end-to-end rush. Carrying the puck up the right wing, Asham faked a shot before cutting around the net to draw goalie Dwayne Roloson out of position. Asham's first attempt to wrap in the puck failed, but he converted on a second chance by flipping the puck into the open left side.

Red Wings 4, Coyotes 2: Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen scored midway through the second period to put host Detroit ahead in Game 1. Brian Rafalski and Jiri Hudler padded Detroit's lead late in the second period and early in the third. Jimmy Howard made 26 saves for the third-seeded Wings. Kyle Turris and Radim Vrbata scored for Phoenix.

-- AP