Penguins Strike Lightning Advance to Stanley Cup Final for Fifth Time in 25 Years

The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning in a one game, winner take all, game seven at the Consol Energy Center on Thursday night. 

With a berth in the Stanley Cup Final on the line, both the Lightning and the Penguins knew they needed to find that spark that would help them become the 2016 Eastern Conference Champions. Prior to Thursday night’s game, the Penguins had lost their last three game sevens. Their last game seven victory was in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. 

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, made his first appearance in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, after missing some time due to a blood clot. Stamkos last appearance for the Bolts this season was March 31 against these same Penguins. 

Bryan Rust opened the scoring just about two minutes into the middle period, with a high wrister from the slot that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy, high glove side. Chris Kunitz and Evgeni Malkin picked up the helpers. 

Jonathan Drouin would knot the game at one, as he would light the lamp at 9:36 of the second period. Valtteri Filppula and Victor Hedman would be credited with the assists on Drouin’s tally. 

With Drouin’s tally, he became the youngest player in franchise history, at the age of 21 years and 60 days, to light the lamp in a game seven. 

Thirty seconds later, after a Ben Lovejoy slapper took a rebound of the end boards, Rust was able to poke the puck past Vasilevskiy, for his second of the game. Malkin would pick up the other assist on the tally. After two periods the Penguins outshot the Lightning 29-10. 

With Rust recording his second multiple goal game of the post season, both in series clinchers, the other in game five of the first round against the New York Rangers, he becomes the second rookie in NHL history to accomplish the feat. Jeremy Roenick became the first, when he did it for the Chicago Blackhawks in 1990.    

In his return to action, Stamkos had 20 shifts and almost 12 minutes of ice time for the Lightning. About five and a half of those coming in the third period. Late in the second, the Lightning captain had a chance to tie the game, but Murray was able to deny his snap shot, as he steered it away. 

The Penguins thought they had iced the game, scoring into the empty net late in the third, but the play was called back due the whistle being blown after the puck had hit a player on their bench. After checking the clock, the Lightning had about 10 and a half seconds left to try and strike if they wanted to get the game knotted up before the final horn.

The Penguins were able to hold off the Bolts in those final 10, sending them on their way to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. The last time they were the Eastern Conference Champions, was in 2009, as they then were able to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in the rematch of the previous season’s Stanley Cup. 

Throughout the game Vasilevskiy, turned away 37 of the Pens 39 shots, while Matt Murray stopped 16 of 17 at his end of the ice. With the victory, Murray became the sixth rookie netminder in NHL history to win a game seven. The Carolina Hurricanes, Cam Ward was the last one to do it 10 years ago. 

As the Penguins had the better regular season record, of the last teams standing, they will host the Western Conference Champions, San Jose Sharks, in games one and two of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final beginning on Monday May 30.     

This is the fifth appearance for the Penguins in the Stanley Cup, winning hockey’s holy grail three times, their last in 2009. The Sharks will be making their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.