PITTSBURGH -- Sure, Sid and Geno still are around. Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang, too. But these Pittsburgh Penguins aren't just a team of big names, but one of guys still trying to make a name in the NHL, too.

Bryan Rust, a rookie forward who was in the minors for half the season, scored both Pittsburgh goals and the Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 Thursday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Their 12th win in 18 playoff games this spring sends a team driven equally by stars and rookies to its first Stanley Cup finals in seven years.

"We've been trying to get back," said Crosby, who helped lead the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in 2009. "It's not easy."

This game certainly wasn't either, especially given the Penguins' three prior Game 7 losses in Consol Energy Center.

Still, the Penguins dominated in shots and scoring chances and, aided by the steady-as-he-goes play of rookie goalie Matt Murray, finished off a comeback from a 3-2 series deficit to deny the Lightning a return trip to the finals.

"We came out against a really good team that hit its stride late in season and carried that into playoffs," said Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman, who had been 7-0 in Game 7s. "You've all seen how well they played, not just against us but in previous two. ... They played better than us the whole series."

Pittsburgh will play host to the San Jose Sharks in the Game 1 of the finals Monday. The Penguins will be playing in their fifth finals -- they won three of the first four -- and the Sharks will be in their first.

"You always wonder if you're going to get back," Kunitz said.

Riding the momentum of their 5-2 win in Tampa in Game 6 on Tuesday, the Penguins dominated the offensive zone play in the first two periods, then held off a Tampa Bay push early in the third.

They relied throughout on Murray, who is 11-4 in the postseason after being expected early on in the playoffs to play only a few games. And Rust, who had only four goals during the season but now has five in the playoffs.

"It's a real breakout night for him (Rust), but it doesn't surprise us," Murray said.

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 playing time was minimal in the first two periods -- he played only 1:58 in the second -- and his on-ice impact was minimal until the third.

"I was obviously excited to play, anxious times, nervous times, but at the end of day you want to be part of these games," Stamkos said.

By the third period, coach Jon Cooper said, "It was like he had never left. But we had a hard time (the entire game) generating shots."

In only the sixth Game 7 matchup of rookie goalies, Andrei Vasilevskiy made the more spectacular saves -- and far more saves overall, 37 to Murray's 16 -- yet the Lightning never effectively solved Murray, who was benched for Game 5 but came back to give up only three goals combined in Games 6 and 7. Murray was one of seven Penguins first-timers playing in their initial Game 7.

The Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy with just over a minute left to create a 6-on-5, but still couldn't get the tying goal. Only Jonathan Drouin, also a rookie, found the net, but the Penguins still won a Game 7 on home ice for only the third time in 10 tries.

After a scoreless first period in which shots and scoring opportunities were sparse for both teams, everything changed in the second period.

Rust beat Vasilevskiy after being left alone above the circles at 1:55, ripping a shot over his glove hand. Teams that score the first goal are 124-42 in Game 7s.

Pittsburgh took advantage of an on-the-fly Lightning line change as defenseman Olli Maatta threw the puck up ice to Evgeni Malkin, leading to Kunitz's pass from along the boards to Rust.

"My linemates are making me better out there," said Rust, a premier goal scorer in the minors. "If you get some chemistry with Geno (Malkin), good things are going to happen."

Drouin managed to tie it midway through the period with his fifth of the playoffs, one more than he had during the regular season.

Drouin skated the puck into the Penguins zone and, rather than passing to one of a couple of teammates, skated into the middle and shot the puck under the crossbar to Murray's glove side at 9:36.

But Rust answered only 30 seconds later with his fifth of the playoffs on one that Vasilevskiy would no doubt like back. Defenseman Ben Lovejoy took a shot off the end boards that deflected toward the net, but Vasilevskiy failed to cover the puck and Rust jammed it into an inches-wide opening between the goalie's left leg pad and the net.

"It was tough to find space out there," Lightning forward Brian Boyle said. "They can really skate with the players they have out there."

But that little space that Rust found made all the difference in the game. And the series.

NOTES: Lightning C Steven Stamkos (blood clot, neck) unexpectedly played after being out since March 31. He led the team with 36 goals during the season. ... Lightning G Ben Bishop took part in the morning skate but still isn't ready to play. The Vezina Trophy finalist has been out with a lower-body injury since the first period of Game 1. ... Penguins D Olli Maatta, benched for three games earlier in the series, began the game paired with Ben Lovejoy, while Kris Letang was with Brian Dumoulin. When Maatta returned to play in Game 5, he was with Letang. ... Penguins F Conor Sheary was active for a second successive game after being a healthy scratch in Game 5. RW Beau Bennett sat again. ... Seven Penguins players -- an unusually high number -- played in their first Game 7, including rookie G Matt Murray and Dumoulin. Three Lightning players made their Game 7 debuts.