Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin scored two goals, including the game-winner late in the third period, in his team’s wild adventure of a 4-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the venue now known as Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla. on Thursday.

But in reality, the NHL was largely responsible for the result.

A league-initiated video review in the final minute of regulation euthanized a would-be tying goal by Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov at 19:05 of the third period. Officials looked over the sequence and determined that a hand pass from Brandon Hagel to Jake Guentzel 13 seconds earlier should have halted play.

In the final minute of regulation, the league’s hockey operations department, not the Penguins coaching staff, initiates such reviews.

“Some of those (reviews) are a little bit tougher to tell,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said to reporters in Tampa via audio provided by the team. “We felt based on what we saw, we thought the call was going to go our way.”

Goaltender Tristan Jarry, meanwhile, was busy halting most of the Lightning’s legal shots as he made 37 saves on 40 shots – each season-high figures for Jarry – to boost his record to 9-2-0.

Given that his team surrendered a three-goal lead, Malkin wasn’t all that celebratory after the game.

“We’re glad (to) take two points,” Malkin said. “The third period, I think we need to play a little bit better.”

Penguins rookie forward Ville Koivunen’s first career goal came 6:12 into regulation during a power-play sequence.

Off some hot-potato passing on the perimeter of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang slid the puck from the high slot to the top of the left circle, where Koivunen lined up his shot and sizzled a far-side wrister past goaltender Jonas Johansson. Penguins forward Anthony Mantha (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) provided a stout screen on the sequence. Letang and forward Tommy Novak had assists.

The Penguins struck again at 7:53 of the second period with Malkin’s seventh goal of the season.

Hagel attempted a backhand pass near the left point of the Penguins’ zone but a thieving Malkin swooped in to tap the puck up through the neutral zone and created his own breakaway. Recovering the puck on the right wall of Tampa Bay’s zone, Malkin glided through the near circle, attacked the net and slipped a clever forehand shot through Johansson’s five hole. There were no assists.

The visitors went up by a field goal 116 seconds later via rookie forward Ben Kindel’s seventh goal during a power-play opportunity.

Taking a feed in the right circle of the offensive zone, Malkin offloaded the puck to the high slot, where defenseman Erik Karlsson dropped the hammer on a one-timer. Stationed just below the lower hashmarks, Kindel flashed the forehand of his stick blade and tipped the puck by Johansson’s blocker. Karlsson and Malkin merited assists.

Kucherov’s 12th goal got his team on the scoreboard late in the second frame at the 18:46 mark.

Guentzel drove the puck into the offensive zone on the right wing and pulled up on the half-wall, shaking off pressure from Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea. Turning to his right, Guentzel dished the puck to Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh, rushing in from the near point. Dashing past sliding forward Sidney Crosby in the right circle, Raddysh dished a clever pass to the far side of the crease, where Kucherov fought through a stick check from Penguins forward Kevin Hayes and tapped in an easy forehand shot past the blocker of a scrambling Jarry. Raddysh and Guentzel generated assists.

Hagel made amends for his earlier error with his 16th goal during a power-play scenario 76 seconds into the third period.

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From near the right point of the offensive zone, Kucherov banked a pass off the opposite wall, allowing Hagel to skate into a shooting lane, then pump a wrister. Karlsson tried to block the shot but may have wound up screening Jarry, who appeared unaware of where the puck was coming from as it beat his blocker on the near side. Kucherov and Raddysh registered assists.

Another goal by Hagel at 11:44 of the third frame tied the game.

Entering the offensive zone on the right wing, Lightning forward Gage Goncalves centered a pass to Lightning forward Nick Paul, who kicked the puck with his right skate to the right circle. Hagel took the offering and attacked the cage mostly unimpeded and elevated a wrister by Jarry’s glove. Assists were procured by Paul and Goncalves.

Malkin restored a lead for his team at 17:17 of the third frame.

Lugging a puck out from behind his own cage, Karlsson flipped the puck into the air near the far blue line on the left wing. With Malkin pressuring, Lightning defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous was unable to cleanly play the puck and turned it over to Mantha in the high slot. Off a short-area pass from Mantha, Novak identified Malkin alone to the right of the cage, and he slid the puck past Johansson’s left leg on the near side with a wrister. Novak and Mantha had assists.

Kucherov’s non-goal happened after Johansson was pulled for an extra attacker.

The NHL issued a statement explaining the ruling that eliminated the score. It read:

“The Situation Room determined that Brandon Hagel directed the puck to Jake Guentzel with a hand pass at 1:08 of the third period (18:52 elapsed time) – 13 seconds prior to Nikita Kucherov’s goal at 0:55 (19:05 elapsed time). The decision was made in accordance with Rule 79.”

Notes:

• Penguins forward Boko Imama (6-foot-1, 223 pounds) drew a fighting major 2:36 into the contest when he tussled with Lightning rookie forward Curtis Douglas (6-foot-9, 242 pounds). Imama was a sixth-round draft pick (No. 18 overall) of the Lightning in 2015.

• Malkin (1,375 points) surpassed forward Mike Modano (1,374) for 26th place on the NHL’s career scoring list.

• Koivunen became the 592nd player to score a regular season goal for the franchise.

• Muse told reporters in Tampa following the morning skate that forward Joona Koppanen was to be scratched due to illness. Koppanen missed a practice session in Cranberry on Wednesday due to the ailment.

• Penguins forward Matt Dumba was a healthy scratch.

• The Penguins remain the only active NHL franchise Guentzel has never scored a goal against. He spent parts of his first eight NHL seasons with the Penguins.