I love NHL hockey!
I also love me a Game 7.
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Bryan Rust secured his place in Pittsburgh sports lore by scoring both goals in the 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Rust could have scored five goals in Game 7 with all the chances that he earned. Rust sent Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2009 when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings.
Rust, a Notre Dame star alumnus, opened the scoring in the second period, then took all of 30 seconds to wipe out Jonathan Drouin‘s equalizer.
Jonathon Drouin, 21, scored his 5th goal of the playoffs for the Bolts' only goal
The subplot top Game 7 was Lightning captain Steve Stamkos taking the warmup skate and playing in the knockout game. Stamkos had not played a game in 57 days after being diagnosed with a blood clot on his right collarbone issue that required a surgery to correct.
Stamkos ended Game 7 at -1 with just 11:55 of TOI on 20 shifts. Stamkos limited himself to shift length of 32-35 seconds in the first period so that he could ease himself back into the game. Stamkos was Tampa's best forward and should have been given more ice time, in my opinion. Stamkos won 38% of his draws, landed 2 hits, had 3 shot attempts.
Pittsburgh controlled the puck for the majority of time in Game 7. They out-shot the Lightning 39-17. Rookie tender Andrei Vasilevskiy, 21, kept his team in the game with a half dozen 10-bell saves.
Matt Murray, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Wednesday, made 16 saves.
In the end, the Lightning will undoubtedly regret the missed opportunity to finish this series off in Game 6 at home.
Game 1 gets underway at in PIT on Monday.
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Playing in Game 7 of the ECF will likely be the final chapter in Steven Stamkos' illustrious eight year career in Tampa Bay. Stamkos will become UFA on July 1. He will be the number one unrestricted free agent on the market come July 1. That is if his UFA negotiating rights are not traded between now and July 1. The Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs are the front runners to land Stamkos.
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And yes, Sidney Crosby touched the the Prince Of Wales Trophy trophy after it was handed to him by NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. Crosby bucked the tradition to not touch the trophy. He's obviously not superstitious. The Pens won the Cup in 2009 after Crosby touched the trophy.
Thanks NBCSN
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Steven Stamkos took the warmup and is going to play in Game 7.
Stamkos' surgeon, Karl Illig, told the Tampa Times, his risks are "very, very low," .
The final decision to play is up to Stamkos.
"I think he's doing the right thing."
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Will Steven Stamkos play I'm Game 7?
Will this be his final game as a member of the Tampa Lightning?
Stamkos will become UFA on July. It appears that his days are numbered in the city by the bay.
Stamkos, Tampa's captain, hasn't played since having surgery to remove a blot clot from his right collarbone eight weeks ago.
Stamkos took the optional morning skate, however, departed early.
Stamkos has been working out and skating with the Bolts lately. He arrived at Consol Energy on the team bus. He arrived to the rink early. who knows.
The Bolts aren't tipping their hand as to whether Stamkos will play in this knockout game in Pittsburgh.
Bolts head coach Jon Cooper just met with media.
"This is the top couple games of our careers as a group together, and we're going to put our best foot forward. And if Stamkos is in the lineup, it's our best foot forward, and if he's not in the lineup, it's because he wasn't eligible to play."
Such a delicious troll job by Cooper, a lawyer by trade.
I'm willing to bet you that Stamkos takes the warmup skate.
Stay tuned...
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