Game 7 Notes

— Everything is on the line as the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday night at the Consol Energy Center in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
Game time is 8:00 p.m. (TV: ROOT SPORTS, VERSUS Network. Radio: 105.9 the X).
Pittsburgh is 7-5 all-time in Game 7’s with a 2-5 home record. The Penguins have won four of their last five Game 7s but lost their last Game 7, a 5-2 defeat on home ice to the Montreal Canadiens last post-season in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
— Pittsburgh’s and Tampa Bay’s most recent Game 7 victories have clinched Stanley Cup championships. Pittsburgh defeated Detroit, 2-1, on June 12, 2009.
Tampa Bay beat the Calgary Flames, 2-1, on June 7, 2004.
— The Lightning are 2-0 all-time in Game 7. This is their first Game 7 on the road.
Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma is 2-1 all-time in Game 7. Wednesday’s game marks the third time in the past four series that the Penguins have gone to a seventh game.
— Since the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967, home teams are 66-43 (60.6%) in Game 7.
— Prior to Wednesday’s game, and tonight’s Vancouver-Chicago Game 7, teams that have held a 3-1 series lead are 219-23 (90.5%) alltime in best-of-seven series.
— The Penguins are 8-1 all-time when they hold a 3-1 series lead. Their only loss came in the 1975 Quarterfinals to the New York Islanders when Pittsburgh went ahead 3-0 in the series.
— In the eight instances where the Penguins have held a 3-1 series lead, the only time the Penguins have gone to a seventh game when holding a 3-1 series lead was the ’75 loss to the Islanders.
— Pittsburgh has won four of its previous six games when it can be eliminated in a series.
— The Penguins are 18-17 all-time in best-of-seven series when facing elimination.
The Penguins have been outscored 12-4 in their last two lossess and on home ice, have been outscored 13-6.
Pittsburgh was 1-1-1 this season in 8 p.m. start times. The Penguins’ most recent 8 p.m. postseason contest was Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final at Detroit, a 2-1 Cup clinching victory for the Penguins.

Player Tidbits

— From a statistical standpoint, 41 year old goaltender Dwayne Rolson has outplayed Marc Andre Fleury by a wide margin.
Roloson has posted a 2.05 GAA and .941 save percentage compared to Fleury who has posted a 2.77 GAA and .890 save percentage through six games.
Fleury is 4-6 in his last 10 post-season starts, surrendering 4 goals or more in 5 of his last 8 post-season stats.
Fleury is 2-1 all-time in Game 7’s, posting a 2.90 goals-against average and a .879 save percentage in three games. Fleury’s biggest Game 7 win was in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings.
Fleury is 0-1 all-time at home in Game 7.
— Penguins center Max Talbot has 3 points in his last two games and is on a two game points streak. Talbot has 33 career playoff points (14G-19A) in 65 post-season games.
— The Penguins have eight active players who have scored Game 7 goals. Pascal Dupuis leads the way with 3, followed by Max Talbot (2), Jordan Staal (2), Chris Kunitz (1), Craig Adams (2), Kris Letang (1), Mike Rupp (1), and Alex Kovalev (1).
Kovalev is 6-0 all-time in Game 7’s, averaging a point per game (1G-5A). Kovalev’s last Game 7 goal was on May 4, 1999 against the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at New Jersey.
— Marty St. Louis who leads the Lightning with 8 points in the series, has been held to just 2 shots on goal in his last two games. St. Louis has 56 career post-season points in 51 games.

Team Stats

1-Goal Games:
Tampa Bay — 0 – 2 – 0
Pittsburgh — 2 – 0 – 0
2-Goal Games
Tampa Bay — (1 – 0)
Pittsburgh — (0 – 1)
3-Goal Games
Tampa Bay — (2 – 1)
Pittsburgh — (1 – 2)
Scoring first
Tampa Bay — (2 – 0 – 0)
Pittsburgh — (3 – 1 – 0)
Leading after 1 period
Tampa Bay — (2 – 0 – 0)
Pittsburgh — (2 – 0 – 0)
Trailing after 1 period
Tampa Bay — (0 – 2 – 0)
Pittsburgh — (0 – 2 – 0)
Tied after 1 period
Tampa Bay — (1 – 1 – 0)
Pittsburgh — (1 – 1 – 0)
Leading after 2 periods
Tampa Bay — (3 – 0 – 0)
Pittsburgh — (2 – 0 – 0)
Trailing after 2 periods
Tampa Bay — (0 – 2 – 0)
Pittsburgh — (0 – 3 – 0)
Tied after 2 periods
Tampa Bay — (0 – 1 – 0)
Pittsburgh — (1 – 0 – 0)

Game Situations

Goals by Period
Tampa Bay — 1st (7) | 2nd (6) | 3rd (8) | Total: 21 (3.5 per game)
Pittsburgh — 1st (4) | 2nd (2) | 3rd (7) | OT (1) | Total: 14 (2.3 per game)
Shots by Period
Tampa Bay — 1st (56) | 2nd (46) | 3rd (46) | OT (9) | Total: 157 (26.2 per game)
Pittsburgh — 1st (62) | 2nd (75) | 3rd (71) | OT (13) | Total: 221 (36.8 per game)
Power Play
Tampa Bay — | 8 Goals – 25 Attempts (32.0%) |Road: 6 Goals – 14 Attempts (42.9%
Pittsburgh — | 1 Goal – 30 Attempts (3.3%) | Home: 0 Goals – 20 Attempts (0.0%)
Penguins Kill
Tampa Bay — | 29 of 30 (96.7%) | Road: 20 for 20 (100 %)
Pittsburgh — | 17 of 25 (68.0%) | Home: 8 of 14 (57.1%)

Goal Situations

Tampa Bay — | 5-on-5 (11); 5-on-4 (8); 4-on-4 (1); Empty Net (1) | Total: 21
Pittsburgh — | 5-on-5 (12); 5-on-4 (1); Empty Net (1) | Total: 14

Notable Stat Leaders

Points:
Tampa Bay — M. ST LOUIS (8),S. GAGNE (7),V. LECAVALIER (6);
Pittsburgh — A. ASHAM (4),M. TALBOT (4),K. LETANG (4)
Goals
Tampa Bay — M. ST LOUIS (4),P. KUBINA (2),V. LECAVALIER (2)
Pittsburgh — A. ASHAM (3),T. KENNEDY (2),A. KOVALEV (1)
Assists
Tampa Bay — S. GAGNE (5),S. DOWNIE (5),E. BREWER (4)
Pittsburgh — K. LETANG (4),B. ORPIK (3),M. TALBOT (3)
Power play goals
Tampa Bay — M. ST LOUIS (3),P. KUBINA (2),V. LECAVALIER (1)
Pittsburgh — T. KENNEDY (1)
Shorthanded Goals
Tampa Bay — M. OHLUND (1)
Pittsburgh — None
Game Winning Goals
Tampa Bay — V. LECAVALIER (2),S. DOWNIE (1)
Pittsburgh — A. KOVALEV (1), T. KENNEDY (1), J. NEAL (1)
Hits
Tampa Bay — P. KUBINA (22), N. THOMPSON (21), E. BREWER (14), M. OHLUND (14
Pittsburgh — C. ADAMS (19), A. ASHAM (18), P. DUPUIS (18), B. Orpik (18)
Blocked Shots
Tampa Bay — E. BREWER (20), B. Clark (17), V. HEDMAN (17)
Pittsburgh — B. ORPIK (13), P. MARTIN (10), Z. MICHALEK (9), C. ADAMS (8)
Face Off Leaders (50% or better, min 10)
Tampa Bay — A. HALL (56.5%), V. LECAVALIER (52.8%)
Pittsburgh — C. ADAMS (55.8%), M. RUPP (53.3%), M. LETESTU (51.3%)
Shots
Tampa Bay — S. BERGENHEIM (18),V. LECAVALIER (17),E. BREWER (15)
Pittsburgh — T. KENNEDY (29),K. LETANG (22),Z. MICHALEK (20)
Plus/Minus
Tampa Bay — S. DOWNIE (+4),M. OHLUND (+2),B. CLARK (+2)
Pittsburgh — M. RUPP (+4),A. ASHAM (+3),C. ADAMS (+3)
(Stats courtesy of Penguins Communications Department, NHL.com, Stats LLC)