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Iron Man just pumped life back into the Igloo.

Jordan Staal kept the play alive in the Penguins’ end by digging a puck out of the back boards, then redirected an Alexei Ponikarovsky shot from center point to score his third playoff goal and make it 4-2 at 16:30 of the second.

Staal has been playing like a man possessed, which he just might be after missing only two games before returning from severed tendon in his right toe. Mellon Arena went wild after he scored.

And the place went nuts went the Jumbotron showed Evgeni Malkin’s father, Vladimir, wildly waving a rally towel with 2:13 remaining.

The score sheet will officially recognize Kris Letang and Pascal Dupuis.

The real assist on the Penguins’ first goal of this Game 7 against Montreal belongs to the official who got in front of Kris Letang’s shot on net, as it bounced off him and right in front of Chris Kunitz.

Kunitz got his fourth playoff goal, going upstairs on Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak to make it 4-1 at 8:36 of the second period.

Michael Cammelleri owns this series.

And, perhaps, the Penguins.

Cammelleri scored his NHL-best 12th goal of the playoffs and seventh of the series to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead over the Penguins at 3:32 of the second period. Andrei Kostitsyn and Jaroslav Spacek assisted.

Kostitsyn was called for a roughing penalty 27 seconds later, but the Penguins gave up a short-handed goal to Travis Moen, who outraced lethargic defenseman Sergei Gonchar along the boards for the puck and then beat goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 4-0 at 5:14.

That chased Fleury, who was replaced by backup Brent Johnson.

Montreal’s Game 7 hero struck again.

Former Penguins center Dominic Moore — who scored the game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of their first-round series — fired a shot from the top of the right circle to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead over the Penguins at 14:23 of the first period at Mellon Arena.

The play occurred with no one protecting the net, other than Fleury. Penguins defenseman Brooks Oprik was behind the cage, repeatedly hitting pest Maxim Lapierre into the backside of the goal.

After drawing a penalty that led to a Montreal goal only 32 seconds into the game, Sidney Crosby led a rush that turned into a two-on-one when Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill fell after colliding with partner Josh Gorges.

Crosby made an ill-advised pass to Max Talbot that Gorges got a piece of his stick on to break up the scoring chance.

The Penguins then got a break when Dominic Moore was called for goaltender interference after Marc-Andre Fleury blocked his breakaway and Maxim Lapierre’s rebound hit the right post.

What did the Penguins do?

Answer with one of the most putrid power-play performances we’ve seen in some time at Mellon Arena, one that saw Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bill Guerin lose the puck and let it cross the blue line. Letang later had a turnover that led to a Tomas Plekanec breakaway.

Despite giving up the first goal on the first shot he faced, Fleury has made several difficult saves so far.

Everyone else has looked lost.

Wait just a minute.

Seriously, just a minute.

Sidney Crosby was called for boarding Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges — who had his back to the Penguins captain — only 10 seconds into Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Mellon Arena.

Only 22 seconds later, the Canadiens took a 1-0 lead when Brian Gionta scored his sixth playoff goal by redirecting a backhand from the left circle by defenseman PK Subban.

It was the third time in the playoffs that Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury allowed the first goal on the first shot he faced.

And, to make matters worse, the Penguins got a penalty in the process.

Matt Cooke was called for high-sticking, keeping the penalty kill unit on the ice without one of its top performers. But the Penguins escaped that infraction without giving up another goal.

The Penguins’ defense of their Stanley Cup championship comes down to this, a Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens to determine who goes home and who advances to the Eastern Conference final.

The fate of Mellon Arena depends on whether they win or lose.

Montreal has gone from eighth seed to forcing a Game 7.

The Canadiens already have won a seven-game series by clinching on the road, stunning the Washington Capitalsin the first round.
And the Habs have a shot at making historyin the Igloo.

When it comes to Game 7s, the Igloo doesn’t have a good record, but the Penguins believe they can overcome their past with their present cast.

The big question is, will the superstars shine or will there be an unlikely hero?

Follow the live blog at “Sitting Rinkside” tonight to for Game 7.

The Penguins got goals from defensemen Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar and 59 minutes of shutout play by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to beat Montreal, 2-1, in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal at Mellon Arena.
Michael Cammelleri scored a power-play goal on a 6-on-4 with 29.7 seconds left to erase Fleury’s shutout bid after the Penguins missed on a pair of empty-net attempts.
The Penguins have a 3-2 lead over the Canadiens in the best-of-seven series.
The defending Stanley Cup champions are now within one game of clinching their third consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference final.
Game 6 is at 7 p.m. Monday at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

With a 2-0 lead and the Penguins on a power play, Evgeni Malkin made the mistake of taking a bad penalty when he reacted to a non-call by hitting Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges in the face.
The roughing penalty put the Penguins in a 4-on-4 instead of a man-advantage, then the penalty kill when it should have been even strength.
The Canadiens were looking for defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron on the power play, and it’s no wonder. At today’s morning practice, Bergeron put a spider web in the glass behind the Penguins net with a slap shot.
Bergeron got his opportunity on a one-timer from the right point, but Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made a nice pad save to stop it.

Sarge stroked it.
Sergei Gonchar scored his second playoff goal, taking a feed from Brooks Orpik and firing a slap shot from the right point past Jaroslav Halak to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead over the Montreal Canadiens at 9:50 of the second period of Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal at Mellon Arena.
It marked the first-ever NHL playoff point for Mark Letestu, who got the secondary assist. It was the sixth even-strength goal for the Penguins in this series, although two came on empty-netters.