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Monday, Feb. 21 7:30pm ET
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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- 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 Tampa Bay Lightning, who ended an eight-game winless streak. "It doesn't look too good," Penguins 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" during a collision with Todd Warriner. 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, currently seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff race, play Tuesday at the New York Rangers. The ninth-place Rangers trail Pittsburgh by three points. Czech Republic native Pavel Kubina scored the go-ahead power-play goal at 14:14 of the second while countryman Jagr was serving a high-sticking penalty. The Tampa Bay defenseman scored on his second attempt while falling down just outside the crease. "I think we shocked the Jagr line," said Kubina, who was unaware of the potential severity of Jagr's injury. "Me and (fellow Czech defenseman) Petr (Svoboda) know him very well, and know what we have to do against him. He took a bunch of hits and took no shots." 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 just the third time in 30 games (3-24-3). The Lightning, who also snapped an eight-game winless streak, have won three of the four meetings between the teams this season. 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 NHL player of the week Jean-Sebastien Aubin. The Penguins goalie faced 14 second-period shots, robbing Warriner, Paul Mara, Ben Clymer and Marek Posmyk from in-close. Aubin finished with 30 saves. Tampa Bay's Dan Cloutier faced 22 shots. Falloon and Gardiner -- who had gone 15 games without scoring -- exchanged first-period goals. Stephen Leach assisted on Falloon's goal, snapping a 29-game point-scoring drought. The Lightning are 1-7-1 in their last nine games. Former Czech national team coach and new Penguins associate head coach Ivan Hlinka spent his first NHL game behind the bench with Brooks. Current plans have Hlinka, the head coach in waiting, observing the next few games from the bench. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Pittsburgh Clubhouse Tampa Bay Clubhouse Jagr out indefinitely with injured hamstring
New Pens associate coach, Hlinka, debuts in loss to Lightning
RECAPS Washington 1 Carolina 1
Tampa Bay 2 AUDIO/VIDEO   Jaromir Jagr gets cut down by Todd Warriner's leg.avi: 1071 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||