May 26 Recap

Penguins Defeat Lightning, Will Face Sharks in Final

         Last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Penguins have reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since their 2009 championship. Last night’s game was both entertaining and full of surprises.

         The first surprise was the return of Steven Stamkos, who hadn’t played since March 31^st. He finished with 2 shots and 2 hits in 11:55 of ice time. The second surprise of the night was unlikely hero Bryan Rust, who scored both goals for Pittsburgh. The 24-year-old was the first rookie to score 2 goals in a game 7 since Adam Henrique in 2012.

         The 1^st period was tight and scoreless, with neither team being able to gain the upper hand. The Penguins increased their energy at 1:55 of the 2^nd period, when Bryan Rust scored off a well-placed shot over Vasilevskiy’s glove. Johnathan Drouin tied the game at 9:36 on a brilliant individual effort when he sniped a shot past Murray’s glove.

         The Penguins responded 30 seconds later when Bryan Rust scored a Joe Louis-style goal. Ben Lovejoy’s shot rattled off the back-boards and landed at the side of the net, where the waiting Rust tucked it in behind Vasilevskiy at the far post. The most baffling stat of the 2^nd period was the shots on goal. Pittsburgh had outshot Tampa 21-5. At this point, rookie goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was the reason the game was still close.

         Though the 3^rd period was scoreless, things got very interesting in the final minutes. The Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy for an extra attacker with 1:08 remaining in the game. With 5 seconds left, it looked like Carl Hagelin had sealed the deal when he shot the puck into the empty net. However, it was determined that Pittsburgh’s clearing attempt had deflected off of Ben Lovejoy, who was sitting on the bench. This caused the goal to be disallowed, and a faceoff inside the Pittsburgh zone with 10 seconds on the clock. The Lightning, however, could not gain possession, as the Penguins were able to hold the puck along the wall until time expired.

         The Eastern Conference Finals turned out to be a very thrilling series between two very good teams. It seems appropriate that it went 7 games. The series ended with the Penguins winning the Eastern Conference. They will now face the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final. Unlike the Sharks with the Clarence Campbell Cup, the Penguins accepted and touched the Prince of Wales Trophy. The Stanley Cup Final begins on May 30 with game 1 in Pittsburgh.