The Pittsburgh Penguins won a grueling Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will play the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 7.
After all the attention throughout the series was on the HBK Line, an unsung hero in Bryan Rust stepped up to score both of Pittsburgh’s goals in the win. It was similar to when Max Talbot scored the only goals in the Penguins’ Cup win back in 2009.
The marquee matchup in the Cup Final will definitely be Joe Thornton vs. Sidney Crosby. Thornton has put up Hall of Fame numbers throughout his career, but the only thing that’s held him back is a Stanley Cup, and there will never be a better chance for him to get it than now. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby will be back in the Cup Final for the first time since 2009, and will look to add to his extensive trophy cabinet.
All the attention following the win was on how Crosby actually lifted the Prince of Wales trophy, given out to the Eastern Conference champions. Of course, it’s superstition not to lift it since the focus is on the Cup, but as Gino Reda pointed out, he did it before, and it worked out just fine.
The Cup Final this year will be a fascinating matchup, to say the least. The NHL might not like it since it won’t be in a rich market, but if the ratings are low, people will simply be missing out.
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