Thus Concludes Boston's Disappointing Stay In The Toronto Bubble As TB Beats Them In 5 Games

 

    You'd be hard-pressed to find a more bizarre stay in the NHL postseason than the one just completed by the Bruins in the Toronto bubble. They weren't ready to go and went 0-3 in round-robin play before beating the Hurricanes in five games then falling in five games to the Lightning (the same story from 2 years ago!) in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Fittingly, the series-clinching victory for Tampa Bay was extra painful for Boston as the Lightning battled them for nearly two full overtime sessions before Victor Hedman sent the B's home to their families and friends with a shot through a Pat Maroon screen at 14:10 in double overtime. The Lightning won 3-2 as they kept their perfect overtime record (5-0) going this postseason while the Bruins (1-2) dropped their second overtime contest of the series (they also lost 4-3 in Game 2). 

    Any season-ending loss is going to hurt for awhile but Boston will be kicking themselves since you could argue that Game 5 was their best performance overall against Tampa Bay. They outshot the Lightning 47-35 and Jaroslav Halak (32 saves) deserved a better fate since he saved his best outing of the playoffs for this bitter defeat. The Black and Gold never led in Game 5 and they needed a clutch goal from David Krejci with 2:33 left in regulation just to send it to overtime in the first place. After scoring six goals in the first two games of the series, Boston's offense mostly disappeared to the tune of four total goals in their last three games. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay scored 19 goals in five games (obviously with a big boost from their 7 in Game 3). 

    After missing Games 2-4 with an injury, the Lightning's second best defenseman Ryan McDonagh returned to action and played 31:50 with six hits and three blocked shots. As it turned out, Tampa didn't even need its great captain Steven Stamkos (out with a core muscle injury all postseason) to get past Boston. Nikita Kucherov also got banged up tonight and only played 9:09 but it still didn't really matter since the Lightning outworked, outsmarted, outhustled and simply outplayed the Bruins for much of Games 2-5. 

    Ondrej Palat scored a goal for a fourth straight game which tied a Lightning franchise record in the playoffs. He tipped in a shot by BU's Kevin Shattenkirk at 4:21 of the second period for a 1-0 Tampa lead. Blake Coleman added the second assist on Palat's fifth goal of the postseason/series. David Pastrnak tied it with a sweet one-timer at 12:38 of the second period. His third goal of the postseason was thanks to a great feed from Krejci with the second helper going to Patrice Bergeron as Andrei Vasilevskiy (45 saves) had no chance to stop the laser that actually hit the camera mounted in the back of his net. 

    Another fortuitous deflection for Tampa-this time from Anthony Cirelli-gave the Lightning a 2-1 advantage at 12:03 of the third period. Hedman had the initial shot and Brayden Point (6-game point streak) notched the second assist on Cirelli's third goal of the postseason. Boston finally got some puck luck of their own to get the tying tally. Zdeno Chara's shot was tipped by a Lightning player right to Krejci who was parked out front for an easy goal. Connor Clifton added the other assist on Krejci's fourth goal of the postseason (and 40th all-time which tied John Bucyk for fifth-most in franchise playoff history). Boston came out on fire in the first overtime (outshooting Tampa Bay 11-7 in the first 20 minutes) but they started to lose steam when Krejci was correctly whistled for tripping halfway through it. They survived that but never really could recover as the Lightning outshot them 7-1 in double overtime before Hedman-who played a game-high 38:25-put the B's out of their misery with more assists for Shattenkirk and Point.

    I'm sure that many lazy Bruins fans and/or media members will put much of the blame for losing this series on Tuukka Rask's slender shoulders. While they certainly would have had a better chance to beat Tampa with him, the Lightning were truthfully the superior club in almost every possible way. As I said before, Boston's offense evaporated as the series went along and every time their defense made a mistake, it felt like Tampa Bay was right there to make them pay. There is no shame to losing to the Lightning-one of the best teams in the NHL by any measure-but this was a rather depressing way to see a Presidents' Trophy winner go out so easily. The B's had such an outstanding regular season and then for whatever reason, the time off really hurt them since they could never find that extra gear when they needed it most. 

    We have no idea when the next Bruins season will begin and likewise, there are many unsettled issues surrounding the team now that they are officially done for 2019-20. Do they re-sign their unrestricted free agents in Torey Krug, Chara or Joakim Nordstrom? What about their young restricted free agents Jake DeBrusk (23) and Matt Grzelcyk (26)? Losing in five games to the Lightning in the second round shows that Boston has to find a way to get younger. Drafting well and developing their own prospects would definitely help in that regard. Oh and it also shines a light on the fact that last season's Stanley Cup Final loss to St. Louis in Game 7 will probably represent the last true run with this same core group of players. That was their golden opportunity to win another Stanley Cup and it only gets harder as the years pass by, they all get older and more worn down from the grind of long NHL careers. 

    

    

    

The Lightning Push The Bruins To The Brink Of Elimination With A Frustrating 3-1 Loss In Game 4

 

    Let's just get this out of the way first: yes Tuukka Rask not being here for his team is a major factor but even with him on the ice, the Lightning would most likely still be in control of this series. After an unexpected day off (thanks to the NHL temporarily pausing the postseason to focus on racial injustice), Tampa Bay resumed its beating of Boston with a 3-1 win in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead. How dire are things for the Bruins after they lost their third straight game? Well, they have never rallied to win a series when they are down 1-3. In that dire situation, they are 0-23 in best-of-7 series. Conversely, the Lightning are perfect at closing things out when they are up 3-1 in a series since they are 5-0 in that favorable spot. Woof. Game 5 is on Monday night (7, NBCSN). 

    Boston's margin for error is so small when they matchup with Tampa right now so needless to say, allowing the first goal and finding themselves down 3-0 in the second period is basically a guaranteed loss before its even over. It's easy to rip Nick Ritchie (12 penalty minutes including a 5-minute major for a boarding penalty that led to the 3rd goal) and Jaroslav Halak (23 saves but his customary whiff on a routine glove save) since they both had outings that they surely would like to forget but I think that overlooks a sputtering Bruins offense that has managed to score two goals total in Games 3 and 4 combined. Is that bad? Their lone goal today came with 12:56 left in regulation as Jake DeBrusk used his sneaky fast release to throw a wrist shot through Andrei Vasilevskiy's (29 saves, 9th win of the postseason) five-hole.

    Too often, Boston's power play (1-for-4) or 5-on-5 for that matter was overpassing or simply not hitting the net when they had some great scoring chances. Brandon Carlo actually ventured forward for a pair of opportunities that were predictably stuffed by Vasilevskiy-one of the NHL's best goaltenders. Meanwhile, David Pastrnak had a game-high six shots on goal but none of them found the back of the net which is not good enough from one of the NHL's top goal-scorers this season-no matter what injury he might have. Nikita Kucherov (2 assists) is having a nice series which is totally on brand but Tampa has to be thrilled with its secret offensive weapon: Ondrej Palat who has two goals today & four already in the series including his current three-game goal-streak. Also, Victor Hedman (game-high 27:09)-who is no doubt on the short list of best defensemen in the league-has four points (3 goals, assist) in these four games including another tally this afternoon.

    It's hard to pinpoint one main reason for Boston's struggles on defense in this latest setback because all three goals came in separate and annoying ways: awful coverage in front of the net, an easy stop that Halak has to make every time and a crazy deflection that ended up behind him. Ugh. Brayden Point's filthy stickhandling made Torey Krug look like a fool but truthfully, all five Bruins on the ice (plus Halak) were too slow to react as he hit Palat with a one-timer that he put in the upper corner of the net. 1-0 Lightning at 8:59 of the first period. Things only got worse from there for the B's as Palat's second goal came at 12:29 of the second period. It was another one-timer, this time from Anthony Cirelli and Tyler Johnson with Halak's invisible glove hand the real hero on the shot that was from distance. Boston had nearly killed all of Ritchie's five-minute major but Hedman's harmless shot from the point deflected off Par Lindholm's skate and floated over Halak but under the crossbar. 3-0 Tampa at 18:04 of the second period. Goodnight everybody! Tyler Johnson and Kucherov had the helpers on the goal that likely ended the Bruins' life in the Toronto bubble for all intents and purposes. 

       DeBrusk's fourth goal of the postseason came at 7:04 of the third period to cut it to 3-1 Lightning but it was far too late to have any real effect on the final outcome. Boston's two BU alums that grew up in Masschusetts (Charlie Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk) had the assists on DeBrusk's smooth finish. The Bruins actually outshot the Lightning 11-6 in the third but that's a tad misleading since Tampa was just trying to escape with their collective health intact. These B's have more than enough pride and professionalism to show up on Monday and put forth another solid effort but frankly, they are cooked. With no Rask, this isn't exactly a fair fight and you can sense the Lightning get more confident with each goal that they score.

    No matter if this series ends in five games, six games or seven, it feels like we're nearing the end of an era for the B's. I'm not really sure how Rask ever shows his face in Boston again let alone plays another game for the Bruins while 43-year-old captain Zdeno Chara seems on the verge of retirement. Last season was awesome up until Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and then this one was great pre-pandemic as they captured the cursed Presidents' Trophy. Since that time, they went 0-3 in the round-robin (after not taking it seriously enough) which pissed away their top seed, they rolled in five games over the still inept Hurricanes and now they are 1-3 vs. Tampa Bay. Which part of that equation looks like an aberration? There are many valuable pieces left on the team but GM Don Sweeney will have some serious alterations to do during the bizarre offseason (Krug will get a serious pay raise either here or elsewhere). Those are all issues for another day though as Tampa Bay (5-0 in Game 5s in a best-of-7 series when leading the series 3-1) gets their first chance to eliminate Boston (7-16 in Game 5s in a best-of-7 series when trailing in the series 1-3) in two nights.

The NHL In October Doesn't Get More Exciting Than That 4-3 Shootout Loss for the B's to Tampa

No matter what time of the year it is (fall, winter or spring), you can always bet that whenever the Bruins (5-1-1) and Lightning (4-2-1) meet up, it is going to be a hell of a game. Yes, it was the end of a road trip for Tampa Bay and Halloween is still weeks away but tonight at TD Garden it felt like an Eastern Conference Final contest instead of game seven of the regular season for both clubs. Boston coughed up a pair of one-goal leads but also rallied late in the third period to tie it before a crazy (but scoreless) overtime followed by a four-round shootout. The Lightning came out on top 4-3 in this first of four meetings between arguably the two best teams in the Atlantic Division, maybe Eastern Conference and possibly the entire NHL.

The B's were going for a 3-0 start on their inaugural homestand of the season but Tampa had other plans. Boston's top line (all 3 goals) and power play (3-for-5) continued to produce at an incredible level but conversely, their secondary scoring not to mention quality scoring chances that they allowed continued to be real issues for them. Coming off a career-high four goals on Monday vs. Anaheim (5-2-0), Pasta picked right up where he left off with a power play strike at 9:34 of the first period for an early 1-0 Bruins lead. Bergeron found the loose puck and sent it over to him for his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Torey Krug had the secondary assist to what is guaranteed to be the NHL's first star of the week. Tampa Bay answered with the dictionary definition of a back-breaking (regular season) goal. With 0.8 seconds left in the opening frame, Brayden Point got behind Boston's defense and used a forehand shot to go top shelf on Tuukka Rask (33 saves, 3-0-1). His third goal of the season was assisted by Yanni Gourde and Victor Hedman.

Brad Marchand hit his second post of the contest in the second period before Tampa Bay made the unfortunate mistake of putting Boston's lethal power play unit back on the ice. This time Pastrnak was the playmaker as his pass towards the net was redirected in by Bergeron at 7:26 for the 2-1 advantage. Marchand had the second assist on Bergeron's second goal of the season. It didn't take long though for the Lightning to strike back (sorry) as Mathieu Joseph collected a rebound on the doorstep and put it in the net at 10:32 for his second goal of the season. Harvard's Alex Killorn and Eric Cernak had the helpers there.

In the third period, Tampa Bay took its first lead of the game at 15:13 as former BU star Kevin Shattenkirk's shot went through Zdeno Chara's giant legs and past a screened Rask. Already up to four goals on the season, Shattenkirk has gotten his Lightning career off to a very fast start. Steven Stamkos and Point had the assists on the go-ahead goal that left the Garden pretty quiet for a few moments. Somehow Tampa Bay made another mental error as Anthony Cirelli was called for tripping which led to the tying power play goal by Pastrnak. Andrei Vasilevskiy (34 saves, 4-1-0) was under siege and couldn't do anything to stop Pasta's quick release from in close and through a host of bodies. Marchand and Krug had the assists at 16:55.

Boston's first overtime of the season did not result in a goal but it continued the theme of end-to-end high level action. The B's outshot the Lightning 5-3 but Tampa Bay held on to get to the shootout. The first three shooters for both teams (Hedman, Charlie Coyle, Point, Pasta, Nikita Kucherov and Marchand) all failed to score before Stamkos finally beat Rask up high with a filthy shot. Jake DeBrusk had a chance to tie it with a shootout goal on his 23rd birthday but he flubbed his shot so no presents for him.

The schedule does no favors for the Black and Gold the next week as they go to Toronto (4-3-1) on Saturday night (7, NESN)-their first matchup since Game 7 of the first round last spring-then the Maple Leafs come here on Tuesday (7, NESN). The next game isn't until Saturday night (7, NESN) but it's another doozy as the Blues (3-1-3) return to the scene of their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. I would assume that Rask will play one of the Toronto games with Jaroslav Halak (2-1-0) getting the other. The Leafs have allowed twice as many goals as the Bruins this season (28-14) so this weekend is a good time for Boston's struggling second and third lines to get untracked and build their confidence back up.

Tweet

The B's Rallied From Two Goals Down, Only To Lose Gm 4 in OT After Blowing a Third Period Lead

To beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2018 playoff game, it requires a (cliche alert!) full 60-minute effort or in this case even longer than that. Boston did everything they could to tie up their series at two tonight at TD Garden but they still fell short as Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Girardi re-directed a pass from Harvard's Alex Killorn at 3:18 for a bitter 4-3 overtime victory. The Lightning took a commanding 3-1 series lead with the chance to end things on Sunday afternoon (3, NBC) at Amalie Arena. The B's were plagued by another atrocious start on their home ice-spotting Tampa a 2-0 lead less than halfway through the first period-but unlike Game 3, they were able to recover from that.

For the first time since Game 1, Boston actually led for a little while (6:20). Unfortunately, Tampa Bay wasn't a fan of that as Steven Stamkos tied it at three with a wicked one-timer at 12:56 of the third period. His third goal of the playoffs (2nd of the series/1st non-ENG) was assisted by J.T. Miller. The Bruins actually had a few nice shifts to start their first overtime session of the playoffs but they weren't able to cash any of them in. Like the rest of the Lightning goals in Game 4, Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask (24 saves) couldn't do much to stop Girardi's goal. Killorn took the puck down the right side then threw a backhander in front of Boston's net where it deflected off Brian Gionta (no clue why he had a shift that early in OT) and then Girardi got his stick on it. Yanni Gourde had the second assist on Girardi's game-winning goal, extending his point streak to four games.

I wish I could pinpoint a reason why the B's got off to such miserable starts in Games 3 and 4, my best rationale is that they were too tight. Whatever the case may be, the Lightning are ready to go every time so you have to match that or else your season will be over on Sunday night. Rick Nash's turnover led to Brayden Point skating in and splitting both Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy (how does that happen?) before beating Rask for his third goal of the postseason. Riley Nash was a healthy scratch along with Tommy Wingels and Danton Heinen, meaning that Ryan Donato, Gionta and Tim Schaller were in the lineup for Game 4. Rick's rough first period continued when he was called for a tripping penalty and then Chara put the puck over the glass in his own end for delay of game. Tampa Bay had a two-man advantage for 19 seconds which the Bruins were able to weather but they could do nothing to stop Nikita Kucherov's one-timer from Victor Hedman (4-game point streak) and Stamkos at 9:53.

It became a special teams game and Boston's top-ranked power play (in the playoffs) did its job by going 2-for-4. Their comeback fittingly began with a power play goal from David Pastrnak (5-game point streak) at 15:28 of the first period. It was an amazing bit of hand-eye coordination by Pasta since he was able to hit a floating puck out of mid-air before it dropped back to the ice. His sixth goal of the playoffs was assisted by Torey Krug and Brad Marchand (17th multiple-point playoff game). Trailing 2-1 after the first period, the B's were quickly able to tie it at two early in the second thanks to a power play goal by Patrice Bergeron (5-game point streak). His fifth goal of the postseason was assisted by Krug (7th career multiple-point playoff game).

The Bruins grabbed that 3-2 lead in the third period thanks to a brilliant play by their two best players: Marchand went up ice while they were shorthanded and threaded a pass to Bergeron (20th multiple-point playoff game) between two Lightning defenders that the center was able to deflect in for a beautiful goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy (29 saves) had to be stunned since he hadn't seen his team trail in either Game 2 or 3. I hate to harp on the officials-who have been consistently awful all series-but that particular goal felt like some sort of justice for the Black and Gold since they were only shorthanded because of a bogus hooking call on Noel Acciari (big, strong Hedman flopped like an Italian soccer player). After that, basically everything went wrong for the B's as Krug appeared to suffer a serious ankle (or foot) injury after crashing into the boards and a no-call on Kucherov holding McAvoy which led to the Stamkos tying tally set the stage for the first ever playoff overtime game between these clubs.

So here we are, Krug left the Garden on crutches and in a walking boot therefore I doubt that he'll be available on Sunday. Get ready for Nick Holden trying to keep Boston's season alive! For real though, after such an unexpectedly fun and successful campaign for the Bruins, it would be a shame to see it end in five games in Tampa Bay. If I know the B's, I bet that they find a way to get it done in Game 5 only to return to TD Garden and lose in Game 6. Who knows? As you would expect, the numbers heading into Sunday are nothing but grim if you are a fan of Boston: they are 0-22 all-time in best-of-seven series when they trail 3-1 and 7-15 in Game 5s in which they trail in a series 3-1. Conversely, Tampa Bay's small sample size is pretty solid: they are 4-0 in best-of-seven series when they lead 3-1 and 3-1 in Game 5s when leading a series 3-1. Boston is 1-5 when they allow the first goal this postseason while Tampa Bay is 6-1 when they score first so clearly whichever team strikes first on Sunday will likely be a key factor.

Tweet

Tampa Bay Jumps Out to Early 2-0 Lead & Never Look Back En Route to an Easy 4-1 Win In Game 3

To state the obvious: the Lightning are not the Maple Leafs. Nope, not one bit. After Boston managed to come away with a 6-2 victory in Game 1 on Saturday at Tampa Bay, the Lightning bounced back with a 4-2 win at Amalie Arena on Monday. As the series shifted to TD Garden, Tampa continued to be the aggressor as they scored twice in the first 3:19 of Game 3 to skate away with a 4-1 win and 2-1 series lead. Like an older brother to a younger brother, the Lightning completely smothered the Bruins in almost every facet of the contest that mattered: earning four more power plays (5-1) and recording eight more shots on goal (37-29).

This sets up what is basically a must-win for the B's on Friday (7, NBCSN) since it's hard to fathom that they could beat the Lightning three games in a row after what we've seen out of Tampa Bay in the past two tilts. Of course, it's hard to beat anybody in the playoffs when you combine for three goals in two games. The Tuukka Rask (33 saves) haters should take a night off since this wasn't his fault at all, in fact it could have been much worse since he made a bunch of saves when the outcome was still to be decided. Tampa's goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy hasn't looked exactly picturesque in this series, but it's tough to argue with his results lately.

It was the first day of 2018 that felt like summer with temperatures around New England well into the 80s so you could excuse some of the Bruins' fans for showing up a few minutes late. The Lightning didn't take pity on us poor untanned Northerners as they scored not one but two goals before Boston could blink. Boston rookie defenseman Matt Grzelcyk made a mistake on a puck flipped into his defensive zone and Tyler Johnson was able to feed Ondrej Palat for an easy goal at 1:47. Palat's third of the postseason was also assisted by Anton Stralman. Giving up the first goal is one thing but another right on top of it is unforgivable, especially on home ice. Palat bagged another at 3:19 by deftly tipping in a shot from Victor Hedman. The ghost of Dan Girardi had his first assist of the playoffs on Palat's third goal in the last two games (2 periods to be exact).

The only time that Boston was really in it was for a brief few minutes late in the first period: they converted their only power play opportunity in only 29 seconds as Patrice Bergeron banged in a sweet one-handed pass from David Pastrnak. Brad Marchand had the second assist on Bergeron's fourth goal of the postseason which cut Tampa Bay's lead to 2-1. The Bruins defense let Rask and the rest of the club down on the third goal as rookie Anthony Cirelli was able to take not one (whiffed), not two (saved by Rask) but three shots that understandably were too much to survive in such a fast sequence. Cirelli's first career playoff goal was assisted by fellow rookie Yanni Gourde and Ryan McDonagh.

You waited for the Black and Gold to make a push in the second but they didn't. David Backes fought Cedric Paquette after Tampa Bay's resident wannabe tough guy jumped Backes who had had boarded Girardi. Paquette ended up with a 10-minute misconduct but that hardly mattered since he is an irrelevant buffoon. The scary part for the Bruins is that the Lightning two best players (and 2 of the top forwards in the NHL)-Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos-have been really quiet. Stamkos got an empty-netter with 41.2 seconds left in regulation, only his second goal of the postseason and amazingly, the first point of the series for Tampa's beastly top line.

To win Game 4 and get back in this series, Boston has to shoot way better than they did in Game 3. Tonight they had a whopping 19 shots blocked and if that wasn't bad enough, they missed the net with another 17 shots. This evening, Tommy Wingels was inserted on the fourth line for Tim Schaller but he didn't do anything notable (-1 in 11:24 with 1 shot on goal, 5 hits and 1 blocked shot). Since the Bruins have scored only three goals in the past two games (with just 1 from a forward), I would give rookie Ryan Donato another chance because putting the puck in the net is his specialty. Adam McQuaid wasn't hurt but only skated 9:46 in Game 3 so perhaps he could be scratched for Nick Holden, not that he would likely change the dynamics of this matchup.

As you can imagine, the numbers don't look great for the B's heading into Game 4: they are 8-23 all-time in best-of-seven series when they trail a series 2-1 and they are 16-15 in Game 4s when trailing a series 2-1. The Lightning are 5-3 all-time in best-of-seven series when they lead a series 2-1 but they are 3-5 in Game 4s when leading a series 2-1. The simple remedy for the Bruins appears to be a fast start in Game 4: put some actual pressure on the Lightning and make them play from behind while the Garden goes bananas. Boston's fans wanted something to cheer about tonight (with Pedro Martinez and Bobby Orr in the house) but the B's hardly gave them anything to truly appreciate and savor.

Tweet

Say Hello to the 1st Place Team in the Atlantic Division & Eastern Conference: Your Boston Bruins

In the biggest game of the (regular) season thus far, the Bruins (48-17-11) continued their recent dominance of the Lightning (51-22-4) both this season (3-0) and in the past few years (7-1-0 in their last 8). Boston beat Tampa Bay 4-2 in a playoff-like thrilling contest at TD Garden that was complete with the requisite "We Want the Cup" chants and also included multiple fights with just about the most unlikely members of the B's that you can imagine. The regulation win pushed Boston ahead of Tampa Bay for the first time since October 18 and the Bruins aren't content with only leading the Atlantic Division, they are also at the top of the Eastern Conference (with the 2nd most points in the NHL behind only Nashville).

Eight of Boston's last nine contests had been on the road so the Garden fans were extra psyched to see their proud and resilient club that continues to pile up positive results no matter what key players are missing from the lineup. With only six games remaining in the dress rehearsal, the playoffs are understandably coming into focus as the best teams jostle for position while many others fight tooth and nail simply to get in. Tuukka Rask (26 saves, 33-11) has submitted better individual performances in 2017-18 but I'm sure that for many Bruins fans this was their favorite outing by him. For a guy that is often criticized for being too passive or not a leader, he sure didn't look like that as he repeatedly punched Lightning forward Cory Conacher in the second period. Conacher was sitting on Brandon Carlo in Rask's net so Boston's emotional goaltender took exception to that and started whaling on him. If that wasn't enough, David Pastrnak (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 Gordie Howe hat trick!) got into his first career NHL fight in the third period vs. Tampa Bay's veteran defenseman Dan Girardi (who had hit Patrice Bergeron earlier in that shift which apparently enraged Pasta enough to drop the gloves).

The versatility of this Bruins team is what should make them so dangerous come playoff time: they can employ any style that they need to use on a given night. This particular matchup called for grit with a dash of skill. Boston dominated in the first period (outshooting Tampa Bay 17-6) but it took them until the final minute to strike, luckily they did that twice in 32 seconds. Tim Schaller went to the net and was credited for his 12th goal of the season after Tommy Wingels' shot was saved by Andrei Vasilevskiy (26 saves, 42-16) but a Lightning defenseman appeared to knock the puck in his own net (what we'd term an own goal in soccer lingo). Pastrnak made it 2-0 with a deflected goal on the power play. His 32nd goal of the season was assisted by Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron.

Tampa Bay's No. 2 ranked power play did its job when Brian Gionta was called for boarding early in the second period. J.T. Miller tapped in a sweet pass from Nikita Kucherov (2nd in the NHL in scoring) at 1:14. Miller's 21st goal of the season was also assisted by Victor Hedman, in case you didn't notice the Lightning are blessed with an abundance of talent at every position on the ice. Similar to Boston in the first period, Tampa Bay skated circles around them in the second (outshooting them 11-3). Still, the Black and Gold stayed in front and never gave up their slim lead. Harvard's Alex Killorn thought he tied the game early in the third but it was wiped out right away since Anthony Cirelli had parked himself in Boston's crease with no plans to move out anytime soon.

The Bruins increased their lead back to two goals as Bergeron finished a beautiful passing sequence with Krug and Marchand at 11:59 for his 28th goal of the season. The Lightning still kept pushing less than two minutes later as Hedman's shot somehow squeezed under Rask's arm before he could close it tight to his body. The hulking defenseman's 15th goal of the season was assisted by Yanni Gourde and Girardi. Tampa Bay pulled Vasilevskiy late in regulation but Boston wrapped it up with an empty-net goal from Marchand at 19:05 (his 34th goal of the season). Bergeron and Pastrnak were each credited with helpers on Marchand's goal and truthfully, either of them could have bagged it themselves but they chose to do the unselfish thing and pass it to a more open linemate.

It's a busy weekend coming up for the B's, who knows if they'll have time to eat a ton of candy and hunt for Easter eggs with their kids. Boston hosts Florida (39-29-8) on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) before traveling to Philadelphia (39-25-14) on Sunday afternoon (12:30, NBC), don't forget to watch that game before you stuff your face with some delicious food. The Panthers are three points behind the Devils (40-28-9) for the second Wild Card spot in the East while Philadelphia is one point ahead of Columbus (43-29-5) for third-place in the Metropolitan Division. Needless to say, both opponents will be desperate for two points but the Bruins have plenty to play for as well. David Backes returned tonight after missing the past five games with that gruesome cut on his leg. Zdeno Chara, Charlie McAvoy and Jake DeBrusk all skated at practice today and B's head coach Bruce Cassidy sounded hopeful that they could all return in the next few days. Rick Nash's mysterious upper-body injury is much more scary but it's tough to build up too many negative feelings right now about this team that continues to roll no matter what obstacle is placed in front of them.

Tweet

With His Back Against the Wall, Tuukka Rask Responds With His Biggest Win In a Long Time

It was a real surprise to see Tuukka Rask (4-8-2) get the start at TD Garden tonight vs. Tampa Bay (17-6-2) but Bruins (11-8-4) head coach Bruce Cassidy's hunch paid off in a big way as Boston held on for a very satisfying 3-2 victory against the top team in the NHL. Rask was staked to a 3-0 lead early in the second period and he was only forced to make 19 saves to earn the win but the Lightning awoke late in the second period and dominated the third but Rask was there to shut the door for two points that he desperately needed.

Rask's most recent win was November 6 vs. Minnesota so needless to say, this was a long time coming. Given the quality of the opponent and the way that it played out, the B's have to hope that this is the kick-start that he's been looking for basically all of this so far bizarre season. Boston also received a boost since David Backes (missed 12 games) and Brad Marchand (missed 6 games) returned from injuries and immediately had an impact on the tilt. Marchand assisted on the first two Bruins goals as they took a 2-0 lead in the first period. Charlie McAvoy opened the scoring with a goal at 7:27 that originally was called off for goaltender interference on Andrei Vasilevskiy (33 saves) but eventually the refs overturned it. David Pastrnak and Marchand had the helpers on McAvoy's third goal of the season.

Boston got some always appreciated secondary scoring to double their lead as Riley Nash sniped a shot by Vasilevskiy at 17:13. Danton Heinen and Marchand assisted on Nash's second goal of the season which also extended his point streak to three games. Cedric Paquette crushed Torey Krug along the end boards early in the second period which led to Frank Vatrano tripping Paquette. Little guys stick together! Shortly after that, Mikhail Sergachev was nabbed for interference on Marchand who simultaneously was called for embellishment (which only him and a few other guys around the league would have been charged with in that instance). No matter as Krug exacted some revenge with a one-timer at 5:59 from Ryan Spooner and McAvoy when the teams were skating 4-on-4, his fourth goal of the season.

Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr scored his first goal since March 30 of last season when his shot from the point through traffic found a hole into Boston's net. Braydon Coburn and Chris Kunitz assisted on that fluky goal. It could have been worse for the B's since Tyler Johnson broke in on Rask but his shot somehow hit the post and skimmed along the goal line but never went in before he ran into the embattled Finnish goaltender. Boston escaped the frame with a 3-1 advantage which was trimmed to 3-2 at 2:10 of the third period as Steven Stamkos scored his 11th goal of the season and NHL-leading eighth power play tally of the season. He crushed a one-timer from Alex Ovechkin's office (left side half-wall), assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev. Rask clinched the win with a key stop on Dan Girardi's shot that was tipped by Ryan Callahan.

As far as we know, the Bruins made it through a complete game (including McAvoy who played a career-high 28:11) without sustaining another key injury. Their next game is Saturday (1, NESN) at Philadelphia (8-10-7) who is a woeful 1-4-5 in their last 10 games. It shouldn't matter who gets the start in that contest, either Rask or Anton Khudobin (7-0-2) should be able to beat the Flyers who are currently a dumpster fire with their fans booing them off the ice and calling for their head coach's head. Haha what else is new for that silly team that still doesn't have a legitimate goaltender of its own?

Tweet