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WATCH: Bryan Rust receives the Game 7 Warrior Helmet, because duh

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What more would a guy have to do than to score both goals in your team's Eastern Conference Final-clinching game? Not a thing else - as there's no doubting that, even without his two goals (although they were certainly helpful), Bryan Rust was the player of Game 7.

For that, he gets not only the Penguins' Warrior Helmet, but a slap on the ass from Chris Kunitz. What an honor.

Something else to appreciate here: the fact that Rust's playoff beard is significantly, laughably so much better than Crosby's. It isn't even a contest. Sid may be a bit better than he was seven years ago, but...

You know who has the best beard, though? Pascal Dupuis, right at the start of the video - not to mention sitting at Sid's side in the locker room. This isn't even fair.

Maze Bonino update: she loves the giant penguin now

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Remember back when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals to move on to the third round of the playoffs, Nick Bonino celebrated with his baby girl - who wasn't quite sure?

Specifically, she wasn't sure about this giant stuffed penguin that's twice her size?

Well, now that the Penguins have defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning and are on to the Stanley Cup Final, it looks like she's figured it out - just like her dad said she would.

Oh. OH, what a face. She LOVES that penguin, as do we all.

Next time she'll be in the right Cup, probably.

GIF: Bryan Rust opens Game 7 scoring

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After going through an intense - but scoreless - first period, the Pittsburgh Penguins have drawn first blood.

Olli Maatta was quick to get the puck up all the way back from his own end up towards the offensive zone. Evgeni Malkin chipped it up and in to Chris Kunitz, who had a deft little flip over to a streaking Bryan Rust.

Whenever Rust is streaking into the zone, it means bad things for the opposition. Case in point: the first goal of Game 7, in which Rust went in unopposed and top shelf.

This is it for the Eastern Conference Final, and Rust has gotten the Pens off to a great start.

Nobody is as dedicated as Olli Maatta's family

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Well in that case, it's certainly a good thing that Olli Maatta is healthy and playing again!

An 8 p.m. puck drop in Pittsburgh means a 3 a.m. puck drop in Finland. So I guess the Maattas and their friends either go to bed early and, essentially, take a midnight nap - or they just go without sleep for a number of days during the playoffs.

Either way, that's a whole other level of dedication.

Maatta played 22:17 in Pittsburgh's Game 6 win over Tampa Bay, so at least you know they got to see a lot of him. He's never scored a goal in the playoffs, though - maybe his family's dedication will pay off soon? That'd be an awesome reward for an extremely long night.

And hopefully this group of Finns will have a few more sleepless nights ahead of them yet.

Sidney Crosby second Penguin ever to score three game-winning goals in a series

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Game winning goals can be, well, random. After all, Sidney Crosby may have scored the game winner in Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning - but when he scored, he was making it a 3-0 game. Insurance goals are always great, but which one so happens to be the game-winning goal isn't always by design.

That said, Crosby has also scored the game winners in Games 2 and 3. One was an overtime goal, one was an insurance goal - but all are game winners.

Via the Elias Sports Bureau, Crosby is just the second Penguin to score three game-winning goals in a single series since Kevin Stevens did it in 1991 (and we have it on authority good things happened in 1991).

Can he make it four? Well, there's no doubt that would certainly be cool.

WATCH: Sidney Crosby dances through everybody, makes it 3-0 in Game 6

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Sidney Crosby already had an assist in this game. The Pittsburgh Penguins already had two goals.

Neither were good enough - not in a do or die game, and not when you're the best player in the world.

So Sid did something about that. (In Punjabi - enjoy!) With the most impressive goal in this game so far, he danced through Tampa Bay's top defense pairing, and shot the puck five hole on Andrei Vasilevskiy while he was at it.

Boom. It's 3-0 Penguins in a must-win game, and Crosby is looking like a real leader out there.

WATCH: Kris Letang makes it 2-0 in Game 6

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Kris Letang did not have a good Game 5. Considering how he was on the ice for every single Tampa Bay Lightning goal - and wasn't there for any of the Penguins' goals at all - that's actually quite an understatement.

Giving the Penguins a 2-0 lead in a must-win Game 6, though? That's definitely on the road to redemption. Nobody's going to complain about a seeing eye shot that goes through everyone to give the Penguins a multi-goal lead - nobody who matters, anyway.

Bonus! Pierre McGuire commentary, as only Pierre McGuire can.

WATCH: Phil Kessel scores 5-on-3, makes it 1-0 Penguins in do or die Game 6

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It's do or die for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And while things initially looked a bit more like death - though an offside call eventually corrected that - right now, they're doing.

So they got a bit of help. Anton Stralman took an interference penalty against Tom Kuhnhackl, and then, just 41 seconds later, Victor Hedman accidentally shot the puck down the ice - and over the glass. Delay of game penalty.

The Penguins had a lengthy 5-on-3 with which to work at the first period's end, and Kessel made it count. He opened the scoring - for real - with his ninth goal of the playoffs.

That puts Kessel third in overall playoff scoring, and he retains his title as the Penguins' most prolific scorer this post-season.

It wasn't the most beautiful goal ever - but who needs pretty when they count?

Phil!

— Phil Kessel (@PKessel81) July 21, 2013

Evgeni Malkin guarantees Game 6 victory

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It's no surprise the Penguins have had an extremely disappointing weekend.

After seeming to dominate the Tampa Bay Lightning back in Game 3, the Penguins dropped two close contests. In Game 4, they fell behind 4-0 - only to score three goals in the third period, but fail to fully come back.

Then the flip side, and something even more crushing: having a 2-0 lead in Game 5, and dropping it. Getting that lead back, only to see the game tied up with just minutes to go, and a quick overtime winner against to put them on the brink.

From the outside looking in, it can be difficult to have confidence in the Penguins right now. Game 5 was a particularly special sort of dagger.

But from the inside, you're not going to find a team of quitters. Teams don't make it to the third round of the playoffs by accident - and they certainly don't break until it's officially over.

The Penguins know the next game could be their last. Evgeni Malkin isn't subscribing to that belief, though.

Malkin has four goals and 12 points these playoffs. He's tied with Carl Hagelin for fourth in team scoring, behind Phil Kessel, Sidney Crosby, and Nick Bonino. The Penguins have a lot of star players who need to get going - but Malkin is certainly chief among them.

So if he's making statements like this, he'd better be prepared to back them up.

Because we know he can.

GIF: Last minute magic gives the Penguins the Game 5 lead - again

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The Pittsburgh Penguins opened the scoring with barely even a second left in the first period.

They extended their lead at the very start of the second period.

Then, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored two goals in 1:10 in the middle of the frame. But there was no reason to fear, because when it comes to the edges of periods, the Pittsburgh Penguins evidently know what they're doing.

It all starts with Olli Maatta bringing the puck in and eventually sending it back to Evgeni Malkin in the slot. Malkin gets control of the puck up and, spinning around the defender, gets a shot on net. Andrei Vasilevskiy has it - but he didn't have the rebound, Chris Kunitz did.

And just like that, the Penguins got the lead back before the period was over.