There's not much to be said, obviously, for losing in Columbus by four goals.

There's not much more than that to be said for blowing a three-goal lead to the sharks the other night before, you know, pulling it out in the shootout.

But you know what? For better or worse, the harsh, harsh reality that I think a lot of us are expecting for this team is about to hit.

Not once, but twice.

Good morning to you.

Good Tuesday morning.

I'm Dan Kovachovich of D.K. Pittsburgh Sports.

This is Daily Shot of Penguins.

It comes your way bright and early every weekday.

If you're into football and or baseball, I also offer daily shots of Steelers and Pirates,

the other two teams in town that I cover.

Penguins versus Lightning tonight.

That's a 708 p.m. faceoff at PPG Paints Arena.

Tampa Bay is always one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

This year does not appear to be an exception in that regard, even with Stephen Stamco's

no longer there.

The Bolts, of course, signed Jake Gensel as a free agent.

They've still got Nikita Kutjurov.

They've got Brayden Point.

They've got Victor Headman in the back, and they've got Andre Vasilevsky way in the back.

And they're beginning to look like their best selves of late, not least of which was a resounding victory over the league leading Jets this past weekend.

And speaking of the Jets, they're next.

...