The Pittsburgh Penguins put themselves in a difficult position when they blew a late lead in Game 5 at the Consol Energy Center and allowed the Tampa Bay Lightning to secure a 4-3 overtime victory on Sunday.That loss gave the Lightning the opportunity to go home Tuesday night and secure the series on their own home ice at the Amalie Arena.However, the Penguins were not about to let that happen. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead, survived a Tampa Bay rally and pulled out a 5-2 victory to send the series to a decisive seventh game.Sidney Crosby scored the goal that made it 3-0, and his brilliant snipe between the legs of Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy proved to be the game-winner. Now, Crosby has a chance to get his team back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since the Pens won it all in 2009.The Penguins and the Lightning will face off at 8 p.m. Thursday night in Pittsburgh.The NHL playoffs can be streamedonNHL.TV.Crosby discussed the upcoming game withDan Rosenof NHL.com:You look at it just as an opportunity.You probably don't think about a lot of other stuff besides the fact that it's really hard to get there and it's a game. It's one game and you've got to find a way to win it. Try to enjoy it as much as you can, but also understand that it's a great opportunity and try to leave it all out there.Crosby has had tremendous success in this series, scoring the game-winning goal in each of the Pittsburgh victories, including an overtime snipe in Game 2. But the most important game in the series remains, and if the Penguins don't win it Thursday night at home, Crosby's previous achievements in the series will be little more than trivia.Head coach Mike Sullivan does not expect Crosby to carry the Penguins in the seventh game. He says the primary reasons the team has gotten this far are depth and all-around team play."We don't expect any one of our players to carry the load for this team," Sullivan said, per Rosen. "This team has had success because it's been a team and everyone participates and contributes to help us win."Crosby has six goals and nine assists in the playoffs, leaving his point total tied with Nick Bonino's for second on the team. Phil Kessel has been the Penguins' leading playoff producer, as he has lit the lamp nine times and added nine assists.Evgeni Malkin has scored four goals and nine assists, but he has not hit his stride. His ability to control the puck in the offensive zone and then create scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates could end up being the difference in Game 7.The Lightning understand they let an opportunity get away in Game 6. However, they are not about to concede anything.Tampa Bay is in a similar position to the one they were in last year. The Lightning lost Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final at home to the New York Rangers before registering a 2-0 victory at Madison Square Garden in Game 7 to propel them to the Stanley Cup Final.The Lightning have three players in Anton Stralman (7-0), Brian Boyle (6-0) and Matt Carle (5-0) who have never lost a Game 7.Stralman talked about his Game 7 record withTom Gulittiof NHL.com:I think it's obviously a part of being on good teams, but also enjoying it.I don't think you can play to your potential if you're not embracing it and just have fun with it and enjoy it instead of putting a lot of pressure on yourself and all that stuff. You play at your best when you don't think too much and just go out and play hockey like you have for a lot of years.The big difference for the Lightning this time around is the likely absence of goaltender Ben Bishop, who has been sidelined (lower-body injury) since getting hurt in Game 1 of the series. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper saidhe is not expecting Bishop to play in Game 7.The backup Vasilevskiyhas gotten the job done fairly well while filling in for the Vezina Trophy candidate. He has a 2.87 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.The winner of this game will meet the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final. The Sharks punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final with a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 Wednesday night at the SAP Center.The Sharks were led by Joel Ward who scored two goals and took advantage of soft spots in the St. Louis defense. The Sharks earned a spot in the championship round for the first time in team history.
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