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The first Game 7 of the second round is on tap for tonight, as the New York Rangers visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at CONSOL Energy Center for the decisive battle of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Pittsburgh once held a 3-1 lead in the series, but the Rangers staved off elimination in Games 5 and 6 to set up a final clash for the right to play in the conference finals. The Penguins are aiming for a second straight berth in the East finals, while New York is hoping to return to the third round for the second time in three postseasons. Pittsburgh is 7-6 all-time in Game 7s and the Rangers are 7-5. The Penguins are just 2-6 when hosting a seventh game, while New York is just 1-5 as the road team in this situation. At the center of New Yorks series comeback has been Rangers forward Martin St. Louis, who lost his mother to a heart attack on Thursday but managed to play in Fridays 5-1 victory in Pittsburgh. St. Louis then played a big role in Sundays Game 6 triumph, scoring the first goal of the contest to help his team earn an essential win on Mothers Day. St. Louis and Carl Hagelin scored within a three-minute span early in Sundays contest, while Henrik Lundqvist made 36 saves to anchor the 3-1 victory. Derick Brassard recorded the other tally for the Rangers. "We wanted a chance and we have given ourselves that chance," said Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault. "It is what it is. Its going to be a lot of fun." Lundqvist is 9-2 in 11 elimination games with a 1.35 goals against average and .955 save percentage. He hopes to further improve that win/loss record on Tuesday to get his team back to the East finals after the Rangers lost to New Jersey in the third round of the 2012 postseason. The Swedish backstop is 2-2 lifetime in road elimination games and is 4-1 with a 1.00 GAA in Game 7s. New Yorks star goaltender did receive a $5,000 fine from the league after Game 6. Lundqvist was fined for unsportsmanlike conduct after spraying Pittsburghs Sidney Crosby with his water bottle during a scrum at the end of the second period and was Brandon Sutter provided the lone offense for the Penguins on Sunday. Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury struggled at times, taking the loss after stopping 26 shots. St. Louis scored just 3:34 into Game 6 to stake New York to a 1-0 lead. Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman wristed a shot from the high slot that was stopped by Fleury. The puck then hit off the skate of Pittsburgh defenseman Matt Niskanen in front of the crease and trickled to Derek Stepan, who caromed a backhand shot off of St. Louis and into the net for a lead. "It was Mothers Day. My dads here, my sisters here, its been a tough time for my whole family ... it was a good moment," said an emotional St. Louis, still battling through the sudden death of his mother on Friday. New York road the wave of emotion from that point on with Hagelin scoring the eventual game-winner less than three minutes later. "When he scored, on the bench you could see everyone jumping around," said teammate Derick Brassard of the St. Louis goal. "After that we really took off." After getting blown out in Game 5 and falling behind early on Sunday, the Pens know they need to get off to a better start in Game 7. "Its pretty clear, we didnt show up," Crosby said. The last two games our starts have hurt us, again tonight. We knew it was something we had to improve and we didnt. We paid the price for it. Hopefully, next game we learn those lessons." Although Crosby has just one goal in this postseason, Pittsburghs captain has added eight assists over his teams 12 games. Crosby has two goals and one assist in three lifetime Game 7 appearances. Fellow superstar forward Evgeni Malkin, who lead Pittsburgh with 13 points on six goals and seven assists this spring, had no goals and three assists over three career Game 7s. Tuesdays clash marks the first-ever Game 7 between the Penguins and Rangers. In fact, prior to Sunday, the teams only played one previous Game 6 -- the Patrick Division finals, a 5-1 Pittsburgh victory at Mellon Arena to close out that series on May 13, 1992 Pittsburgh is 4-0 all-time in postseason series against the Rangers, who finished second in the Metropolitan Division this season -- 13 points behind the division champion Penguins. New York also has never come back from down 3-1 to win a series. In 16 previous playoff series the Rangers trailed three games to one, the franchise never rallied to win, and only reached a Game 7 once until this season, in 1939 against the Bruins before losing that contest in triple overtime . The winner of tonights game in the Steel City will face either Boston or Montreal in the East finals. The Bruins and Habs also are tied at three games apiece and Boston will host Game 7 on Wednesday. . -- The Anaheim Ducks have signed left wing Dany Heatley to a one-year deal, returning the 33-year-old unrestricted free agent to the Pacific Division. . -- Manchester United thrilled a record crowd with a brilliant opening goal -- and even Cristiano Ronaldos unexpected entrance proved futile for Real Madrid. . At least 90 players who had college eligibility remaining are expected to enter the draft, shattering last years record number of 73. "Its a humongous number, so the first reaction is it makes you step back a little bit," said NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout with the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. . Pekovic had an MRI test Tuesday on his right ankle that revealed bursitis, which is inflammation of the fluid-filled pad that cushions the joint. . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night.Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., have been recognized as Canadas top male and female amateur golfers as Golf Canada announced the final standings on the 2013 National Order of Merit. On the mens side, Conners, a member of Team Canadas National Squad, is one of Canadas top ranked amateur golfers at No. 41 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Conners breakout season was highlighted by a second place finish at the Canadian Mens Amateur Championship and semi-final appearance at the U.S. Amateur Championship. As a junior at Kent State University, he also notched a slew of top-10 finishes in NCAA action. In addition, Conners made an appearance at the PGA TOURs RBC Canadian Open and posted a third place finish at the prestigious Monroe Invitational. Rounding out the next three spots on the Mens Order of Merit were Team Canada National Squad members Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., whille Charlie Hughes of Langley, B.ddddddddddddC., finished the 2013 season in fifth place. On the womens side, Henderson, 16, sits as the No. 9 ranked female amateur in the world. In 2013, the Team Canada member captured three titles, including the Canadian Womens Amateur Championship, the South American Amateur Championship and the CN Future Links Pacific Championship. On the professional stage, the Smiths Falls, Ont., native recorded two top-3 finishes on the CN Canadian Womens Tour, a T35 finish at the LPGAs Manulife Financial Classic and made an appearance at the CN Canadian Womens Open. In addition, at only 15 years of age, Henderson finished T59 at the 2013 U.S. Womens Open – an LPGA major and premier world event. Rounding out the top-five in the womens national rankings were the city of Québecs Anne-Catherine Tanguay, Soobin Kim of Coquitlam, B.C., and Team Canadas Augusta James of Bath, Ont., alongside her teammate Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. ' ' '
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