Game 7 started with such excitement. Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos was, surprisingly, on the ice during warmups, and added back into last night's lineup. This was Stamkos’ first game back since March 31st, after he had vascular surgery to remove a blood clot near his collarbone. He looked focused and was out on the ice within minutes of the game starting.
When asked before the game how the team was going to adapt to his insertion back into the game, Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen, Ben Lovejoy said, "He's one of the best players of all time. We have to hope that he's rusty.”
Having Stamkos back lifted the team’s morale.
But just wasn’t enough to win and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
At the end of 20, the score remained 0-0. The shots on goal were 8-5, Pittsburgh. It seemed as if it was going to be a close, dramatic game.
A minute and 55 into the 2nd period, the Pens started the scoring when Bryan Rust nailed a long shot over Vasilevskiy’s left shoulder. The Penguins took a 1-0 lead and while they hadn’t won a Game 7 since 1995, they pushed on to break their 11-season Game 7 losing streak.
The Lightning came out strong, but gradually fell back to an inability to control the puck. Their passing was bad, and they spent too much time on the wrong end of the ice. Halfway through the 2nd, the Bolts were outshot by the Pens 18 to 8; the ratio was 21-5 by the end of the 2nd, and ended the game at 39-17.
In an interview with Coach Jon Cooper after the game, he reflected on the Eastern Conference series with Pittsburgh, saying, “They were fast … they played hard and the other thing is they blocked a lot of shots, and that was evident this whole series, and the amount of shot blocks were just incredible and we just couldn't get them through. When you're one and done all the time because the shot is blocked and bouncing out of the zone or they're getting a rebound, it's tough to generate offense.”
For being back on the ice after a two-month hiatus, Stamkos had two close shots, one of which fired up the team and led to Drouin scoring in the 2nd to tie the game. The Pens’ Bryan Rust quickly killed the Lightning’s momentum, though, scoring 30 seconds later to regain the lead. Rookie forward Rust was in one of the biggest games of his life, and he stepped up, scoring both of the Penguins' goals. He was the surprise game 7 star for the Pens, joining the ranks of legends like Eddie Mazur, Milan Marcetta, Brad Marchand, and others who've multiple Game 7 goals.
Vasilevskiy was the biggest star for the Lightning yet again; he was tested over and over, and he just got right back up. If it wasn’t for Vasi, this game could've easily been 6, 7 or even 8 to 1. He ended the game with 37 saves.
Cooper on Vasilevskiy after the game: “I don't think we would have been where we were in this series if it wasn't for him. It's amazing for such a young kid, you know, to play the games — to play in the Stanley Cup Final already, what he did last year, and then to have to come in — you know, he helped us get to Game 7. He was the rock back there, especially talk about the chances and shots they had. He was incredible for us. Obviously, he’s got a bright, bright future.”
Tampa Bay tried to shake things up in the 3rd, coming out with a different jump in their step, but they faced an all-out blitz from the Pens. There were multiple opportunities to tie things up, and put it into overtime, but the Bolts just weren't able to convert.
Despite all the injuries, it was overall a very good year for the lightning. “You know, it's tough to go injury-free," said a disappointed Coach Cooper. "Usually the teams that keep going have — you know, they stay injury-free for the most part, and we didn't. We got hurt before the playoffs, during the playoffs, and then maybe it caught up to us. But as I said, even with a full lineup, that's a heck of a team over there. We pushed them to Game 7. We just couldn't get over the hump."
Thank you, Tampa Bay Lightning, for a great season!
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final will be played at the Consol Energy Center on Monday, May 30th at 8 p.m.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 2, 2016.