Jagr, Pens Tear It Up

The Pittsburgh Penguins have five defensemen and their top two goaltenders out with injury. Somehow, they managed to shut out their opponents.

Jean Sebastien Aubin, a veteran of 11 NHL games, was the stopper of choice in Pittsburgh's 2-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.

Aubin recorded the second shutout of his very limited career, facing just 16 shots as Pittsburgh (35-22-10) extended its unbeaten streak to four games.

Rob Brown and Kip Miller had a goal each for the Penguins and Jaromir Jagr added his league-leading 72nd assist in a game which featured just 34 shots on goal.

With defensemen Darius Kasparaitis (knee), Kevin Hatcher (foot), Victor Ignatjev (rotator cuff), Jeff Serewik (concussion), Maxim Galanov (shoulder) all scratched, No. 1 goalie Tom Barrasso out with a broken hand and backup Peter Skudra sidelined with a bruised leg, Pittsburgh coach Kevin Constantine had little choice to shuffle his lineup in strange ways.

He made forward Ian Moran his sixth defenseman and started the 21-year-old Aubin in goal.

"It's great to have depth," said Constantine. "We're really proud of the way Peter Skudra (14-7-5) and Aubin have played. I think we have a good skilled team that moves the puck well."

Aubin moved pretty well, himself, stopping fellow rookie Vincent Lecavalier on an early breakaway, making a nifty pad save of Alexandre Daigle on a break 40 seconds into the second and stopping Daigle twice again in the period.

"I know those guys," said Aubin, who earned his fourth career NHL win. "I played against Lecavalier in juniors. I knew what to expect (a backhander). And Daigle, I knew he shoots five-hole."

Tampa Bay, with the worst record in hockey at 16-45-5, suffered its second shutout in a row.

The 21-year-old Aubin stopped Daigle on a breakaway less than a minute into the second period, got help from the left post on a shot by Robert Petrovicky and stopped Mike Sillinger's point-blank shot with 12 minutes left in the third to earn his fourth career victory.

Pittsburgh took the lead with 13:55 gone in the first when Brown's soft wrist shot from the top of the left circle was re-directed off defenseman Mike McBain's leg.

The goal was just the seventh of the season for Brown, who missed 24 games beginning in late December with a broken foot. The Pittsburgh forward has two goals in his last three games.

The Penguins, despite just three shots in the second, led 2-0 at the end of a physical period on Miller's 18th. With 6½ minutes to play in the second, Jaromir Jagr fired a cross-ice pass between Sandy McCarthy's legs and onto the streaking Miller's stick.

Miller, alone at the top of the right circle, skated in and snapped a wrist shot that beat Corey Schwab high to the far side.

The assist was Jagr's league-leading 105th point. The Penguins' captain, third in the league in shots with 279, extended his scoring streak to five games.

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