NHL playoff scores 2016: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin silence critics with Game 6 win.

dia and fan narratives float around an impenetrable bubble surrounding star players during the playoffs. If any one game offered better proof of that than Game 6 in Tampa Bay on Tuesday, good luck finding it.

If you hopped on hockey Twitter over the last few days you undoubtedly came across frustrated fans mocking a silly narrative about Sidney Crosby's lack of leadership. Maybe it came from a media member. Maybe it came from a few fans. It doesn't matter who brought it up or how wrong it is: It was out there.

But one of the Pittsburgh Penguins did create a narrative all by himself this week. Evgeni Malkin came out Monday and essentially guaranteed a Game 6 win for the Penguins. Everyone probably thought the same things: Wouldn't that create unnecessary pressure on his teammates? Doesn't he know how bold that statement is? What if he's wrong?

He doesn't care, and he wasn't. The Penguins came out swinging in Game 6 and the Lightning couldn't respond for 40 minutes. Crosby was brilliant, Malkin was a major presence and the Penguins and Lightning are now headed to Game 7.

People can question Crosby's leadership or Malkin's bravado. When it was time to play, both of them expressed and backed up their confidence in Game 6, as they have all postseason long. So don't get too worked up about what unjust critiques get thrown at them in the playoffs. Pretty sure those two aren't affected.

Scores

Penguins 5, Lightning 2 (Series tied, 3-3)

3 things we learned

1. The Lightning are capable of matching the Penguins' intensity

They just saved it until it was too late. Tampa Bay was overwhelmed by Pittsburgh through the first two periods, getting just 11 shots on net. It wasn't until the Bolts entered the third period down by three goals that they finally started pressuring their opponents into mistakes. Pittsburgh did take its foot off the gas with a big lead, but Tampa Bay came close enough to sending Game 6 to overtime that the Penguins should be on their toes when Game 7 begins.

2. Evgeni Malkin lived up to his guarantee

The uber-talented Penguins center made a bold statement before Game 6, assuring reporters that the Eastern Conference Final would head back to Pittsburgh for Game 7. It's the exact same claim that made Mark Messier a part of NHL lore before Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Final. He followed that up with a hat trick and his New York Rangerswent on to win the series. Malkin didn't score Tuesday, but he did register an assist and played one of his best games of the postseason. The trip out on that limb was worth it after all.

3. NHL players are Making Hockey Fun Again™

If you like a little gamesmanship with your hockey, Brian Boyle is here for you.