The Pittsburgh Penguins clinched their place in the Stanley Cup final with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the deciding seventh game of their Eastern Conference play-off series. The Penguins begin the best-of-seven championship on Monday when they host the San Jose Sharks, who beat the St Louis Blues in six games in the other NHL semi-final.The third period was electric. It was the loudest Ive heard a building in all my years in this league, said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan of the crowd of 18,600 at the Penguins Consol Energy Center. Pittsburgh is back in the Stanley Cup final for the fifth time overall, and the Sharks are in it for the first time in franchise history.It is going to be fast hockey, said Penguins forward Sidney Crosby of the next round.American right winger Bryan Rust scored both goals for the Penguins, who will be playing in their first final in seven years, having won three of the first four they appeared in.We are having a lot of fun. One more to go, Rust said. Bryan Rust (c) of Pittsburgh caused Tampa Bay problems all night Rookie goalie Matt Murray stopped 16 or 17 shots as the Penguins finished off a comeback from a 3-2 series deficit to deny the Lightning a return trip to the finals.Murray is now 11-4 in the playoffs after heading into the postseason as the teams backup netminder.Tampa Bay got an emotional lift from the surprise return of captain Steven Stamkos, who played for the first time since March 31 after developing a blood clot near his neck. But his impact Thursday was minimal.Rust is one of the Penguins young guns who are battling for ice time behind superstars Crosby and Evgeni Malkin -- the lone holdovers from Pittsburghs 2009 Stanley Cup winning team. The Pittsburgh Penguins with the Prince of Wales Trophy after the 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning After a scoreless first period in which shots and scoring opportunities were scarce, everything changed in the second period. Rust beat Tampas Russian netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy after being left by himself in the lightning zone at 1:55.Canadian forward Jonathan Drouin managed to tie it midway through the period with his fifth of the playoffs.Rust answered just 30 seconds later with his fifth of the playoffs.Besides missing Stamkos for most of the series, Tampa Bay also had to play without Vezina Trophy finalist goaltender Ben Bishop, who has been out with an undisclosed injury since the first period of game one. Also See: Transfer Centre Latest transfer news Transfer betting Paper Talk Moises Alou Jersey . The team announced the defensive coordinator will not be offered a contract extension. Xavier Cedeno Jersey . The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns. https://www.cheapcubs.com/1220t-keith-mo...ersey-cubs.html. Warren made six birdies and a bogey for a 5-under total of 139 to sit one shot ahead of Felipe Aguilar of Chile, who carded a 69. David Horsey of England was also on 5 under through 15 holes to join Warren atop the leaderboard before play was stopped. Adbert Alzolay Cubs Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. Rick Reuschel Cubs Jersey . -- Nick Bjugstad snapped out of his scoring slump and spoiled Drew MacIntyres first NHL start. PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Rory McIlroy is 18 holes away from his first PGA Tour victory in 18 months, a chance to show the world he is back on his game. Thats not the way McIlroy views the final round at the Honda Classic. McIlroy started strong, avoided a big number with a brilliant bogey in the middle and took on the wind and water on the 16th hole for one final birdie Saturday that gave him a 1-under 69 in the toughest conditions and a two-shot lead over Russell Henley at PGA National. The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland has come to expect this kind of performance. He finished one shot behind in Abu Dhabi. He played in the final group in Dubai, where nothing went well in the final round. And here is again, making key shots and big putt to keep his nose in front in the Honda Classic. "Ive been building and building toward getting my game to a level where I feel it should be," he said. "And Im pretty much at that point now." Saturday wasnt easy. McIlroy might have saved his day with a bogey on the par-3 seventh. He took a penalty drop from under a palmetto bush, and faced a shot off the pine straw across 20 yards of rough to an elevated green with the pin toward the back right. The shot came off perfectly, and he holed the 8-foot putt for bogey. "It was one of the best up-and-downs Ive ever had, I guess," McIlroy said. "And it was almost like a momentum builder. I just bogeyed the last, but walking off that seventh green with a bogey almost felt like I had saved par or I had almost gained a shot on the field. It kept any momentum that I had going to the next few holes." He closed out his round with a 5-iron into the wind to 10 feet of the flag on the 16th for a birdie, and then narrowly missed two birdie chances on the closing holes. McIlroy was at 12-under 198. Asked about the importance of winning on a major tour for the first time since the World Tour Championship in Dubai at the end of 2012, and the first time since the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in 2012 on the PGA Tour, Boy Wonder grappled for the right answer. "It would be nice. It would be my seventh PGA Tour win," he said. "Thats what it is. No bigger, no smaller. And Ill go home and have a nice night and get up the next morning and go play the Seminole Pro-Member. So its all good." He also knows its not over. Henley wasnt doing anything special until he holed out from 150 yards for eagle on No. 14, and then rammed in a 50-foot birdie putt from just off the green at the 17th for birdie that gave him a 68 and put him in the last grroup for the first time since he won the Sony Open last year.dddddddddddd Thats the only time Henley has won -- in his debut as a PGA Tour member -- and he hasnt been in this situation since then. Henley has only two top 10s since that win down from Waikiki Beach at the start of 2012. Now he has to chase one of golfs biggest stars, on a course where only one players -- Ernie Els in 2008 -- has come from behind on the final day to win. "Im trying not to pay attention to what Rory is doing," Henley said. "Obviously, hes playing great and hes been in this situation a little bit more than me. But I still have a lot of confidence and Im just going to try to play my game and not worry about what hes doing too much." Russell Knox of Scotland had a 68 and was three shots behind, while Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela had a 66 and was another shot back. David Hearn (70) of Brantford, Ont., was tied for 35th at 3 under. Tiger Woods is still in the game, but just barely. Woods matched the low round of the day. He was among five players who shot 65, all before the leaders teed off and the wind kicked into gear, but it was enough to move the No. 1 player 49 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 17th. Even so, he was seven shots behind. Woods has never won a PGA Tour event when trailing by more than five shots entering the last round. "Today was a positive day," Woods said after his lowest score in 10 rounds this year. "Hit the ball well and made some putts and got myself back in the hunt." It doesnt figure to be easy for Woods or anyone to track down McIlroy, who has converted the 54-hole lead in his last four PGA Tour wins dating to the 2011 Masters, where he blew a four-shot lead. That streak includes the Honda Classic two years, which he won to rise to No. 1 in the world for the first time. "Definitely not a coincidence," McIlroy said. "I learned a lot that day. I learned not to protect a 54-hole lead. I should have just stuck to the game plan, stuck to my process, not look at the leaderboard, not look at what other people are doing. ... And thats the reason that every 54-hole lead that Ive had since, Ive been able to close the deal. Hopefully, I can keep that run going tomorrow." It would be a remarkable turnaround for McIlroy, who a year ago was so frustrated with his game and high expectations that he walked off the course after 26 holes, a mistake he vowed to never repeat. "Theres still 18 holes to go," he said. "But Im feeling comfortable with where I am." ' ' '