NHL Playoffs 2011: Top 5 Game 7s in Penguins History

The Penguins' loss Monday night means that the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Tampa Bay Lightning will be decided by one fateful game on Wednesday. Another Game 7 for the Penguins. This marks the fourth Game 7 played by the Penguins in the last three seasons.

This is the 13th Game 7 in Penguins history. The Penguins are 7-5 in Game 7s all-time. The Penguins have been very good recently when Game 7 is on the road. They have lost their last two home Game 7s, losing last season to Montreal and in the 1996 Eastern Conference Final against John Vanbiesbrouk and the Florida Panthers.

The Consol Energy Center will be rocking tomorrow night. But until then, let's take a look back at five most memorable Penguins victories in Game 7 situations.

1999: An Upset for the Ages

Highlights from Game 7 between the Penguins and Devils

The Pittsburgh Penguins were the eighth seed and coached by Kevin Constantine. The Devils were the No. 1 seed and heavy favorites to win the series. They also carried a 3-2 series lead into Game 6 in Pittsburgh. In that game, Penguins star forward Jaromir Jagr scored in overtime to extend the series to seven games.

The Penguins marched to the swamps of Jersey confidently. They had a veteran goalie in Tom Barrasso and a myriad of scoring forwards such as Jagr, Alex Kovalev, Martin Straka and Jan Hrdina. In the days of clutching and grabbing before the NHL lockout, the Penguins were only able to muster 13 shots in this game, but four of them were goals. The Devils only had 20 shots, and Barrasso stopped 18 of them.

In a 1-1 game, Alex Kovalev scored from the slot to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead in the second period. Then with a 3-2 lead in the third, Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka carried an odd-man rush. Jagr's shot was stopped by Martin Brodeur but Straka followed up with the rebound and scored on a backhander. After the goal, Straka created one of the most memorable moments in Penguins history when he slid on his rear end from one blue line to the next as the Penguins marched away with a 4-2 win.

2009: Crosby 1, Ovechkin 0

Fleury's game-changing save on Ovechkin

In one of the most fierce, intense and hyped series in NHL history, the Penguins, led by their star Sidney Crosby, squared off against the Washington Capitals in a pivotal Game 7 in 2009.

Every game in this series had been close and memorable. In Game 2, both Crosby and Alex Ovechkin recorded hat tricks as the Capitals took a quick 2-0 lead in the series. The Penguins followed up in Game 3 with an overtime victory off the stick of Kris Letang. After another victory in Game 4, the Penguins went to the nation's capital and won on a fluky goal by Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins couldn't close out the series at home though. The Capitals forced a Game 7 on a weird shot by David Steckel from the blue line.

That set the stage for Game 7 in Washington. Everybody expected another close game but it was far from it. When the game was close, Marc-Andre Fleury robbed Alex Ovechkin on a breakaway opportunity which gave the Penguins all of the momentum they would need. Crosby added a beautiful redirection goal on the powerplay. Craig Adams scored a rare goal after that to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Bill Guerin, Kris Letang and Jordan Staal added goals. The series was capped off with a breakaway goal by Crosby as the Penguins won the game, 6-2 and eventually ended up winning the Stanley Cup.

2001: Darius Who?

Kasparaitis' goal in overtime

In the 2000-01 season, Mario Lemieux returned from retirement to try to lead the Penguins to another Stanley Cup run. They faced the Buffalo Sabres in the second round of the playoffs that year in what was one of the most exciting series in Penguins history.

After leading the series 2-0, the Penguins dropped the next three games, including Game 5 in overtime. Down by one goal late in Game 6, Mario Lemieux scored a legendary goal, which is now called the Immaculate Deflection. A shot from the point was deflected high in the air. The puck conveniently dropped in front of Lemieux in front of the net who buried it home to send the game to overtime. The Penguins later won the game in overtime on a goal by Martin Straka sending the series to Game 7 in Buffalo.

Game 7 was tied 2-2 after regulation. In overtime, the most unlikely name stepped up for the Penguins in Darius Kasparaitis. Kasparaitis was known more for his hits than his scoring yet he took a pass from Robert Lang near the blue line and ripped it past Hall of Famer Dominek Hasek to give the Penguins the series victory. After the goal he slid on his stomach on center ice in a memorable scene for Penguins fans.

1991: The Save Leads to First Game 7 Win

Highlights from Game 7

The Penguins were up against the New Jersey Devils in the first round and they were trailing the series three games to two. The series was headed back to New Jersey and Pittsburgh's number one goalie Tom Barrasso was ailing.

The Penguins turned to Frank Pietrangelo in Game 6, who made one of the greatest saves in Penguins history. He made a sprawling glove save off a shot in the slot which gave the Penguins great momentum and helped them win and send the series back to Pittsburgh for Game 7.

At this point, the Penguins had never won a Game 7 in their history. But they had the faithful Penguins crowd on their side. They rode Frank Pietrangelo in Game 7 after his great performance in Game 6. Pietrangelo responded with an even better performance stopping 27 shots and leading the Penguins to a 4-0 victory. Jiri Hrdina scored two goals and Mario Lemieux added another as the Penguins rolled past the Devils and ended up winning their first Stanley Cup.

2009: Mad Max Talbot Leads Penguins to Cup Victory

"Secret Service Fleury"

The Penguins had been owned by the Detroit Red Wings in terms of puck possession. They had been destroyed in Game 5 of a 2-2 series, 5-0. Now down 3-2, the Penguins returned home in front of their crowd and stole Game 6. Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal scored in the game and Rob Scuderi made the highlight of the night making several stops with his shin in the crease in the dying seconds of the game when the Penguins were only up by a goal.

The Penguins hung on to win, thanks to Scuderi's heroics, and forced a Game 7. Of all the heroes one can think of on the Red Wings and Penguins, it was Max Talbot that stole the show. His two goals in the second period gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead heading into the third. Marc-Andre Fleury was also a brick wall, and he got some help from the crossbar too late in the third.

The Red Wings finally cracked Fleury's wall with less than 10 minutes to go in the season. But with the score at 2-1 and with six seconds left, it was the Flower that bloomed like he had never bloomed before. Fleury absolutely robbed Nicklas Lidstrom from the slot. Lidstrom had an empty net to work with but Fleury dove across the crease and made what Paul Steigerwald calls "a secret service save" to preserve the win and the Cup for the Penguins