Against Pittsburgh, they are 1-0 in a Game Seven, winning 2-1 in 2011 on their way to the Eastern Conference Final. The victor moves on to face the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final.
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It has already been an up-and-down series to this point. That doesn’t make Tampa Bay’s roster vastly inexperienced in Eastern Conference Finals game 7’s, past year did happen after all and the Lightning took down the Rangers to advance, but it is saying the guys with tenure in competing in these functions with the Bolts are very few. They knew the Lightning, with a Stanley Cup final within reach on home ice, would throw their best punch in the third period, but there was nothing they could do about it. He’s had the game-winning goal in all three Penguins victories in this series. The Penguins are 2-7 at home in Game 7s.
Ultimately, tonight’s outcome will be determined by the Lightning’s ability to play sixty minutes of hockey at a Game 7 level, and put the frustrations of Game 6 far behind it. Murray played especially well in a wild third period that Tampa Bay controlled. They were trailing 2-0 in Game 5 and 3-0 in Game 6.
Tampa Bay won Game 1 on the road and finished off the Penguins in overtime 4-3 in Game 5 at Consol Energy Center. The Lightning failed to punch their ticket to the Cup final for the second straight spring in Game 6 on home ice, leaving it to Seventh Heaven on the road against a team which has dominated the better part of the series. This year, it wasnt because of young goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has played his heart out for his team throughout this series, it was because the Lightning came out flat and the Pens didnt.
Superstars are expected to rise up in an important games, and Crosby did that in Game 6. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos (blood clot near collarbone) has been sidelined throughout the postseason. Neither have Lightning center Brian Boyle (6-0) and defenseman Matt Carle (5-0).
Murray took a shutout into the third period, then held on as Tampa Bay pulled within a goal at 3-2, with more shots in the third period (18) than in the first two combined.
The Penguins have countered with a dynamic line of their own in the “HBK” line of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, which has combined for 17 goals and 45 points.
After the game, Murray admitted the win wasn’t pretty.
The Lightning reportedly hosted a well-attended party for Game 5 on Sunday but were forced to nix Thursday’s planned event, and the National Hockey League told Deadspin that the team was only allowed to host one official event per series. But in this series, tied 3-3 and heading back to Pittsburgh for Game 7, Crosby has been there.
Rookie goaltender Matt Murray returned to the lineup after being replaced as the starter for Game 5 by Marc-Andre Fleury, but his 10th playoff victory did not come without a bit of suspense. Murray has the better goals-against average in the playoffs (2.33 to 3.04) and save percentage (.923 to.875) and has a 9-4 record in the playoffs.
Despite the final score, one was left wondering what could have been had the Lightning played with the same intensity for 60 minutes that it did for the last 20.
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