The Bruins could also be miles forward of everybody else within the National Hockey League proper now. But on Thursday at Amalie Arena, they had been reminded that there are nonetheless some formidable groups to battle as soon as the actual season begins in April.
The three-time defending Eastern Conference champions made positive of that.
In what has been a rarity this 12 months, the Tampa Bay Lightning outplayed the B’s within the third interval to return away with a 3-2 victory, handing the B’s simply their sixth regulation lack of the season (38-6-4) in a recreation they by no means led.
“It was a great game, wasn’t it? I thought it was back and forth all night long,” mentioned coach Jim Montgomery to NESN. “I think the biggest difference – and this is where we can learn – is there were a couple of details on goals against in how we want to play things. That’s the difference in the playoffs and that was a playoff-type game. you need to execute in big moments and tonight, unfortunately, we didn’t.”
The Lightning took their third lead of the sport with 6:41 left within the third on an odd play. After a failed step-up by Hampus Lindholm within the impartial zone, Brayden Point had a 2-on-1 however he didn’t execute the cross. The B’s didn’t avert catastrophe, nonetheless. Brandon Carlo, the lone man again, misplaced his footing and took out Linus Ullmark (32 saves), leaving an open internet for a pinching Victor Hedman to attain what turned out to be the winner.
The B’s pulled Ullmark with a few minutes left and utilized heavy strain, however they couldn’t put one other one behind Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was very a lot on his recreation, making 37 saves.
“They got a lucky goal on that third one and we made a couple of mistakes,” Brad Marchand instructed reporters in Tampa. “They’re a real good good team so you’ve got to give them credit. But you make mistakes and they’re going capitalize. And that’s what happened. We had a couple of opportunities we didn’t bury. They got that lucky bounce on that third one. That’s how it goes. You’re not going to win them all. That’s a hell of a team over there. They’ve been to three finals the last number of years, so they still have the majority of their core and an incredible goalie. With that, they’re going to be competitive.”
The Bolts took a 2-1 lead 58 seconds into the third interval, simply after an much more unsettling scenario for the B’s. Charlie McAvoy was racing with Nick Perbix for a free puck when he misplaced his stability and crashed exhausting to into the tip boards along with his surgically repaired shoulder. He left the sport however he would return.
On the following faceoff, Steven Stamkos obtained the bounce on David Krejci on a faceoff within the Boston zone, drawing it again to Nikita Kucherov, who snapped it house. Krejci argued that Stamkos’ stick was within the dot too quickly however to no avail.
“I didn’t see the replay, but (Stamkos) went straight for my stick before the puck touched the ice,” mentioned Krejci. “You’re not allowed to do that. I’ve been kicked out for that many times. But I don’t want to accuse the ref. That’s how I felt, but I haven’t seen it yet.”
Krejci helped to rapidly get that one again, simply 1:26 after the Kucherov objective. David Pastrnak gathered a blocked shot, took it in tight and dished it Krejci in the midst of the slot. Krejci appeared to have a shot, however he moved it to Pavel Zacha, who had a greater one and he buried his ninth of the 12 months.
But the Bolts, who dropped the primary two video games within the sequence this 12 months, would prevail.
As one may count on each time these two groups meet, it was an entertaining, extremely aggressive recreation.
After Marchand missed his stick elevate on Ian Cole and was responsible of a excessive stick, the Lightning scored the one objective of the primary interval at 10:42. With Carlo and Derek Forbort overloading to the fitting aspect on the Tampa energy play, Kucherov discovered a wide-open Brandon Hagel in entrance of the web and Hagel was in a position to elevate a wrister over Ullmark.
That put the B’s on the chase for a very good whereas.
Tempers rose a couple of minutes after the objective when Connor Clifton took exception to a late, excessive hit from Corey Perry and fought the veteran, first dropping Perry with a left after which switching to righty mid-fight to place the veteran on the ice to finish it.
In the second, Vasilevskiy made a a couple of extra glorious saves, however none higher than the one he made on Krejci. After Nick Perbix turned over the puck to Pastrnak, the B’s sharpshooter arrange Krejci on the prime of the crease however the centerman was robbed by a Vasilevskiy glove save.
Ullmark, in the meantime, needed to make a his stops, too, together with one on a partial breakaway on Point on which he was fouled by Lindholm.
The B’s the killed that off, and would lastly even it up on a 4-on-4 with 3:02 left within the second. Taylor Hall, getting an opportunity to play with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, crashed into Vasilevskiy with assist from a Mikhail Sergachev shove. Hall was going for goalie interference, however Sergachev evened it up by repeatedly crosschecking Hall on the ice.
With somewhat extra open house, Marchand completed off a dominant Bruin shift by taking a brief Clifton cross and zipping a wrister from the highest of the left circle by way of Stamkos’ legs to beat Vasilevskiy’s glove hand, his sixteenth of the 12 months.
Considering the B’s entered the sport with a plus-44 third interval objective differential, they needed to like their possibilities at that time. But this time, the Bolts flipped the script on them.
Source: www.bostonherald.com