Rust, Penguins Kayo Lightning in Game 7

Lord Stanley, here we come.

Or, as inimitable Penguins play-by-play announcer Mike Lange once chirped, “You can spit-shine your shoes. We’re going dancing with Lord Stanley.”

The Penguins edged the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, last night in a pulsating Game 7 that virtually throbbed with passion and intensity. Indeed, the 18,638 Consol Energy Center faithful stood in unison with five minutes left and remained on their feet to cheer the Pens home.

The new barn never rocked as loud.

Bryan Rust led the way. Harkening back to another Penguins scrambler who scored two goals in a Game 7, the Notre Dame grad struck twice in the second period to lift the Pens to a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.

“Mad” Max Talbot must be proud.

The one-man wrecking crew was aided by rookie goalie Matt Murray, who made 16 saves. Evgeni Malkin, too. The fiery Russian, who guaranteed a win before Game 6 and then willed his team to victory, assisted on both Penguins goals.

Although held off the score sheet, Sidney Crosby unleashed a game-high six shots on goal, won 54 percent of his draws, and played with a riveting, steely eyed intensity that was infectious.

Befitting a series that so often resembled an on-ice tug-o-war, the rivals battled for control from the outset. Sparked by the return of captain Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay held the early advantage, pinning the Pens down with a relentless forecheck while limiting the locals to a comparatively paltry eight first-period shots on goal.

Then the Pens suddenly sprang to life, testing Andrei Vasilevskiy with a quick flurry in the final minute of the frame.

The momentum carried over into the second period. Just inside the two-minute mark, Malkin dropped the puck off to Chris Kunitz at the Bolts’ blue line. Catching the Lightning in a line change, No. 14 patiently held the rubber until Rust burst into the zone. Taking “Kuny’s” perfect pass in stride, the youngster fired off one leg in a style reminiscent of former great Mark Recchi and smoked Vasilevskiy with a rising wrist shot.

The Penguins’ assault continued until 9:36 of the period, when Jonathan Drouin stung the home team with a spectacular individual effort. The gifted Lightning forward swooped into the black-and-gold end, sliced laterally through the zone, and beat Murray high glove side with a brilliant no-look wrister.

Drouin’s tally—his fourth of the series—was a potential game changer. But the Pens responded with equally stunning swiftness.

Thirty seconds later they regained the lead, thanks to Rust’s Johnny-on-the-spot hustle, a quirky bounce off the end boards, and a rare slip-up by Vasilevskiy.

After that, the outcome rested with the kid goalies. Murray made his signature save of the evening with four minutes left in the second period, stopping a slapper off the blade of a streaking Stamkos.

Heroic in defeat, Vasilevskiy made 37 saves, including a remarkable left-pad effort to deny Crosby.

“Let’s be honest,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “I don’t think we’re where we are in this series if it wasn’t for him.”

On the winning side of the coin, counterpart Mike Sullivan summed up the victory from a Penguins perspective.

“I think we have evolved into a team in the true sense of the word,” Sullivan said. “And I think tonight, that was on display. … We wanted to play in their face and in the gaps tight … I think we took the speed away that makes Tampa Bay so dangerous.

“I know there’s a lot of stories that surround this group, but the greatest story of all is the group itself.”