TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning evened the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece with a 4-3 victory win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 Friday night at Amalie Arena. Game 5 will be played Sunday at 8 p.m. ET at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

How it happened: During the Lightning’s practice on Thursday, Tampa Bay assistant coach Rick Bowness stressed the importance of the forwards getting the puck back to the point. The Lightning worked on it, and the game plan worked to perfection in Game 4. Only 27 seconds into the first period, Tampa Bay forward J.T. Brown had the puck in the corner and moved it back to defenseman Victor Hedman, who quickly got the puck on net before teammate Ryan Callahan redirected it past Penguins goalie Matt Murray. It was the momentum the Lightning needed, and they never let up.

When a team gets offensive production from its back end it normally results in a victory, and that’s exactly what happened. Hedman finished with two assists. Fellow blueliner Andrej Sustr scored his first goal of the postseason when he jumped into the play and drove home a backdoor goal. Teammates Jonathan Drouin (power play) and Tyler Johnson also scored. Since the Penguins had a 4-0 lead after two periods, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan replaced Murray with Marc-Andre Fleury. The move allows Murray to get some rest to prepare for Game 5. The Penguins lost the game but won the third period with three goals and could use that momentum to prepare for Game 5.

What it means: We have a series, ladies and gentlemen. Even as it shifts back to Pittsburgh, the Penguins need to regain momentum on home ice. For that to happen, the Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin, who did score a goal Friday, needs to find his game because it’s getting to a point where he’s even struggling with making the simple play.