Pittsburgh’s Jagr Hurts Hamstring in Loss

The Pittsburgh Penguins playoff drive took two big hits against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Pittsburgh forward Jaromir Jagr, the NHL’s leading scorer with 85 points, could be sidelined for an extended period after injuring his right hamstring. On top of that, the Penguins lost, 2-1, Monday night to the Lightning in Tampa, Fla.

“It doesn’t look too good,” Penguin Coach Herb Brooks said of the injury.

Jagr limped off the ice with 11.7 seconds left in the second period and after the game said he heard his hamstring “crack.” Jagr would not estimate how long he might be sidelined, but players with similar injuries have missed up to a month.

Jagr has gone a season-high three games without scoring and did not have a shot on 14 shifts, totaling 16 minutes.

The Penguins, seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff race, play today at the New York Rangers. The ninth-place Rangers trail Pittsburgh by three points.

Tampa Bay defenseman Pavel Kubina scored the go-ahead power-play goal at 14:14 of the second while Jagr was serving a high-sticking penalty. Kubina scored on his second attempt while falling down just outside the crease.

The Penguins appeared to take the lead on a short-handed shot by Alexei Kovalev, just before the Kubina scored, but referee Mark Faucette did not allow the goal.

“Obviously, we think it’s a goal,” Brooks said. “The way it was explained to me, the ref was bringing the whistle to his mouth and in his mind the play was done. There’s not much you can do.”

Bruce Gardiner also scored for Tampa Bay, which won for only the third time in 30 games (3-24-3).

Pat Falloon scored the lone goal for the Penguins, 6-2-2 in their last 10 games.

Tampa Bay’s lead would have be greater if not for Jean-Sebastien Aubin. The Penguins goalie faced 14 second-period shots, robbing Todd Warriner, Paul Mara, Ben Clymer and Marek Posmyk from in-close.

Aubin finished with 30 saves. Tampa Bay’s Dan Cloutier faced 22 shots.