NHL / STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Penguins Continue Comeback

The Pittsburgh Penguins kept their confidence despite losing the first two games of their playoff series against Boston. They haven’t lost anything since then.

With their explosive offense and an underrated defense, they moved within one victory of the first Stanley Cup finals berth in their 24-year history Thursday night with a 7-2 rout of the Bruins.

Kevin Stevens had two goals and three assists as Pittsburgh won its third consecutive game and can clinch the best-of-seven Wales Conference final at home Saturday night in Game 6.

“On the airplane after the second game, everybody was pretty loose,” Stevens said. “There were 20 guys on that plane saying we weren’t going to let this game come back and haunt us.”

The Penguins lost that game, 5-4, in overtime, leaving them 0-2 after the first two games in Boston. But with their superior skating, they have outscored Boston, 15-4, in the three games since. Pittsburgh was the second-highest scoring team in the regular season.

Of Thursday night’s game, Mario Lemieux, who had a goal and three assists, said: “We played very well defensively. Every time we play well defensively, the offense takes care of itself.”

The winner of the series plays the winner of the Campbell Conference final, in which Minnesota leads the defending champion Edmonton Oilers, 3-1.

Lemieux, who never got past the second round in his previous six seasons with the Penguins, said “it’s great” to be so close to the championship round: “Every time you’re on a winning team it’s a great thing.”