It's only one game so it doesn't erase last spring's one-sided second round playoff series (4-1) won too easily by Tampa Bay. However, it makes up for the 3-2 loss by the B's in Tampa on Dec. 6 and with two more meetings in the regular season, it should give the Black and Gold confidence that they can play with that super team. Domingue (37 saves) actually played out of his mind for most of the game and he was the only reason that his gassed teammates were able to hang around until Boston exploded for a trio of goals in just 1:28 in the second half of the third period. Goaltender Tuukka Rask (20 saves, 21-8-5) continued to play some of the best hockey of his life: he has a goals against average of 1.92 and save percentage of .931 during his 16-game point streak (13-0-3).
Tampa Bay's numbers both individually and as a team are pretty ridiculous this far into a campaign: they have 13 more points than the next closest team in the NHL (Calgary) along with the No. 1 power play unit and the No. 1 penalty kill unit. Right wing Nikita Kucherov (30 goals, 74 assists) is the front-runner for the Hart Trophy (MVP) and he leads the league in points while even Domingue had won his last 11 games (longest streak in Lightning history). They had won a franchise-best 10 games in a row before tonight's loss.
After a scoreless first period-highlighted by another David Backes bout and Mathieu Joseph ringing a shot off the post-where Boston outshot them 17-4, the B's went ahead for good thanks to a power play goal by red-hot Jake DeBrusk (7 goals in his last 8 games). Torey Krug (1 goal, 10 assists in his last 11 games) and Rask had the assists on DeBrusk's 21st goal of the season but in truth, it was mostly all thanks to Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman. DeBrusk intended to pass the puck to Brad Marchand next to the Tampa Bay net but Stralman deflected it right into his own goal. Oopsie! Still, Boston had 23 more shots on goal through two periods (32-9) but only led by one goal (1-0) which was troubling to say the least.
The Lightning's best offensive push of the game was right away to start the third period as Kucherov's line acted like they were on a power play when they really weren't and completely hemmed Boston in its own defensive zone. They didn't come away with any goals though but Domingue stood on his head, robbing Joakim Nordstrom and Danton Heinen with incredible saves. Sean Kuraly got sandwiched between a pair of Lightning on a rough hit by Braydon Coburn that sent Boston's fourth-line winger to be evaluated for a concussion. Speaking of the fourth line, Noel Acciari lost two teeth on Tuesday after getting hit in the face with an errant puck but he didn't miss a game. The hockey gods rewarded him with a huge goal at 11:47 that made it 2-0 Bruins. He followed up a shot by linemate Chris Wagner for his third goal of the season. That's when the floodgates finally opened on Domingue as Patrice Bergeron scored on an uncovered wrister from the slot 45 seconds later (his 22nd of the season, assisted by Heinen and Acciari) and Marchand put the bow on it with a goal via a breakaway where the puck actually rolled off his stick before he completed his move. No worries, his 26th goal of the season was assisted by Heinen and Krug at 13:15.
Tampa Bay finally got on the scoreboard at 13:52 as Anthony Cirelli tipped in a shot from the point by Ondrej Palat. His 13th goal of the season saved the Lightning from the embarrassment of getting blanked but that's about all it was good for. This officially closes the month for the B's and what a February it turned out to be: they finished 11-0-2, their first month without a regulation loss since November 2011 (12-0-2). The good times shouldn't end anytime soon either since they have four games left on this homestand and three are against teams currently out of the playoff picture. The mostly nameless Devils (25-31-8) are here on Saturday night (7, NESN) in Marcus Johansson's first meeting with his last employer. The crowds at the Garden have been particularly loud for the last few games and with only 18 games left in the regular season, playoff hockey is right around the corner.
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