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 The rookies helped the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins
beat Tampa Bay 4-2 on Monday night for their 10th consecutive
victory over the Lightning.
"It was a tough battle," Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said.
"It's good to see those guys get their first goals. I'm happy for
them and they were big goals for us in a tight game."
Right winger Steve Downie had a goal, an assist and a team-high six
hits while center Brandon Sutter also scored for the Metropolitan
Division-leading Penguins (20-6-4) as Crosby sat out his third game
because of the mumps. The star is one of 14 NHL players who have
contracted the illness in recent weeks.
Rust, a 22-year-old right winger, was playing in his second career
game and Dumoulin, a 23-year-old defenseman, in his 10th.
"The top two lines have done so much of the scoring this season and
I think it was really important for us to show that even with Sid
out and the other injuries we have that we can still playing
together as team and come out with a victory," Dumoulin said.
 Fleury made 28 saves in winning his seventh straight start against
the Lightning (19-10-3), who are tied for the Atlantic Division lead
with the Detroit Red Wings. Fleury is 8-1-2 in his last 11 starts
overall.
Left winger Jonathan Drouin and right winter Nikita Kucherov scored
for the Lightning, who lost for the fourth time in their last five
games.
Drouin's goal came with a man advantage and marked the first time in
18 games this season that the Lightning lost when scoring on the
power play. Kucherov also assisted on Drouin's goal in addition to
scoring his 12th goal, which came unassisted with 3:04 left after
the Penguins had built a three-goal lead.
"We did get some bounces go against us but you've got to create your
own bounces," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We've done that, but
for whatever reason, our goal run has dried out a little bit lately.
To be honest, I thought we had a lot of good chances but (Fleury)
played well."
Lightning goalie Ben Bishop left after the first period as he was
hit in the head with a shot. Evgeni Nabokov finished and took the
loss.
Dumoulin scored his goal at 7:47 of the third period to push the
Penguins' lead to 4-1. The defenseman scored from just beyond the
right circle after taking a pass from center Rob Klinkhammer.
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Rust's goal came at 2:55 of the second period and put the Penguins
ahead 2-1. Center Andrew Ebbett set up the goal by intercepting a
clearing pass and feeding Rust in the slot.
"I've played hockey for long enough where I now if I get a pass in
the slot, I've got to get my head up and pick up spot," Rust said.
"Obviously, it's something I have been looking forward to for a long
time."
Downie gave with the Penguins a two-goal lead when he scored on the
power play with 34 seconds left in the middle period. Downie's fifth
goal came when he poked in a rebound of a shot by right winger
Patric Hornqvist.
Both teams scored in the final minute of the first period.
Sutter broke a scoreless tie when he beat Bishop on a short-handed
breakaway with 51 seconds remaining. It was Sutter's seventh goal of
the season and the eighth short-handed goal of his seven-year
career.
Twenty-four seconds later, Drouin tied it for the Lightning with a
power-play goal off a rebound of a shot by center Tyler Johnson. It
was the rookie's first career goal with a man advantage and second
overall.
NOTES: Penguins RW Beau Bennett was quarantined Monday after showing
signs of contracting the mumps. He has been out since suffering a
knee injury Nov. 24. ... Crosby could return Thursday night when the
Penguins host the Colorado Avalanche in their next game. ...
Lightning LW Ondrej Palat missed his third straight game with a
lower-body injury, and D Radko Gadus sat out a second consecutive
game with a stomach virus. ... Tampa Bay RW Ryan Callahan was
credited with seven hits. ... Penguins D Simon Despres blocked four
shots. ... The Lightning play again Tuesday night, visiting the
Philadelphia Flyers.
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