Phil Kessel and the Pittsburgh Penguins claimed Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 to take a 2-1 series lead Wednesday night.

Here are three takeaways from the eventful game.

#HBK

How ’bout Phil the Thrill? Kessel was a force in Game 3 Wednesday, registering a career-high eight shots on net, scoring once and adding an assist to pad his team lead in goals (seven — that’s a career-high in the playoffs) and points (16) this post-season. He, along with linemates Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin, have been extremely productive all post-season, and Wednesday night was no exception. Hagelin matched Kessel with a goal and an assist, and Bonino had a helper too. Their combined five points made for quite the statement game for “the HBK line.”

“Kessel doesn’t get the respect he deserves. He’s scoring so much.” Cooper said after the game. (More on that here.) “Bonino is underrated. Hagelin has won everywhere he’s gone.”

Here’s a closer look at the line’s productivity since joining forces in March:

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(GM of the Year candidate Jim Rutherford is looking pretty good right now.)

Crosby carries momentum

Prior to Monday’s Game 2, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had been criticized for his lack of post-season points. He hadn’t scored since Game 4 against the New York Rangers back on April 21, and was just one period shy of his longest playoff goal drought. As you’ll recall, he made sure that didn’t happen when he scored a stunning overtime winner just 40 seconds into extra time.

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Clearly, Crosby carried that momentum into Wednesday’s Game 3. The captain got himself on the scoresheet again when he scored a one-timer to make it 3-1 on the power play.

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(Hmm, that one-timer sure looks familiar, eh?)

In the end, that goal wound up being the game-winner for the Penguins. Pittsburgh has now won 10 consecutive playoff games when Sid scores.

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Following the 4-2 victory, the captain was asked about a particularly heated conversation between him and linemate Patric Hornqvist.

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“We’re pretty intense,” said Crosby. “That’s pretty common. We usually laugh about it after the game.”

Whatever was said, it clearly worked.

Vasilevskiy loses his cool

Like the previous two games of this series, there was a goaltending storyline to be found in Game 3 — that’s bound to be the case when you’ve got a pair of 21-year-olds manning the creases.

Penguins rookie Matt Murray came away with the win, becoming the first netminder under age 22 to earn nine wins in a single post-season since Felix Potvin in 1993.

But tonight, let’s talk about Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The Lightning goaltender faced a whopping 48 shots, and made some big-time saves.

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“He challenges a lot, so you really have to pick your spot,” Crosby said of his opponent after the game.

The young goalie was extremely frustrated by the game’s end, after his defence surrendered another giveaway, which led to a Chris Kunitz goal.

Vasilevskiy took out his anger on his stick — and on the Lightning bench, toward which he directed a long, hard gaze.

Game 4 is on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on CBC, and if the first three games were any indication, you’re gonna want to tune in.