With less than four minutes left in the second period and the Tampa Bay Lightning trailing, 2-1, Steven Stamkos unleashed a vicious shot on a one-on-one against Penguins rookie goaltender Matt Murray, who looked to have pushed the puck wide.
It was quite literally a “where did he come from?” moment for a player who has been absent since an April 4 surgery to repair a blood clot and wasn’t even supposed to play at all.
While the Penguins ended up winning Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference final Thursday at Consol Energy Center, 2-1, to advance to the championship against the San Jose Sharks, the Lightning captain made his unlikely return in an effort to lead his team back to the finals after losing the Cup to the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-2, last season.