Entering their second round series against the Boston Bruins, the Tampa Bay Lightning knew that one of their biggest tasks was going to be slowing down the Bruins’ top line. Boston’s trio of Patrice Bergeron flanked by Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak has been regarded as one of, if not the best trio in the NHL.
It’s safe to say the Lightning failed at that task in Game 1 at Amalie Arena. As a result, the Bruins roared off to a 1-0 series lead over the Lightning thanks to that number one line
Bergeron (2 G, 1 A), Marchand (1 G, 3 A), and Pastrnak (0 G, 4 A) combined for a whopping 11 points as Boston toppled Tampa Bay 6-2 in the opening game of their second round series. In their seven-game series win over Toronto in Round 1, the Bruins’ top line combined for 30 points. In addition, the Bruins were coming off an exhausting series that saw them only get two days of rest before this game. Boston also received 34 saves from Tuukka Rask, as the Lightning held a 36-24 shot advantage for the game. The Lightning, coming off a week-long break after their first round series win over the New Jersey Devils, not only generated more shots, but generated more high-quality chances. However, Boston didn’t need many looks to make the Lightning pay for some defensive coverage errors.
Early on, the Lightning certainly didn’t have the look of a team coming off a week-long layoff.
Tampa Bay came out playing some very good hockey in the opening frame, hemming the Bruins in their own zone with a lot of pressure and a tenacious forecheck. Both teams generated some quality chances in the opening 20 minutes, with the Lightning holding the slight edge in terms of the quality of their chances. However, both Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and Rask looked dialed in, each making solid stops throughout the period.
However, a late penalty on Ryan Callahan for tripping put the Bruins’ lethal power play on the ice. Eight seconds after the power play began, Boston cashed in on a goal by Rick Nash. Bergeron won the faceoff, working the puck back to Pastrnak. Nash tipped in Pastrnak’s point shot for his second goal of the playoffs with 2:49 left in the first.
It didn’t take the Bruins long to extend their lead to 2-0 in the second period.
Just 42 seconds into the period, Boston’s top line caught the Lightning napping. Pastrnak’s touch pass was one-timed by a wide-open Bergeron past Vasilevskiy, his second goal of the playoffs. Usually goals allowed in the opening minute of a period can be deflating, but the Lightning kept it together and got on the board at the 2:31 mark. Dan Girardi fired a shot from the point right into traffic in front of the net, where it bounced off the arm of a Bruins player and into the net, cutting Boston’s lead to 2-1.
A few minutes later, the Bruins appeared to extend their lead to 3-1 on a Marchand goal. However, the officials immediately waived off due to a cross-checking penalty on Pastrnak. On the ensuing power play, the Lightning created several excellent chances from Victor Hedman, Alex Killorn, and Nikita Kucherov, but they couldn’t cash in. Soon after the power play ended, Nash notched his second goal of the afternoon when he roofed a shot top shelf past Vasilevskiy, making it 3-1.
Despite facing their second two-goal deficit, the Bolts refused to go away.
Only 49 seconds after Nash’s second goal, Tampa Bay converted a power play chance helped out by an equipment malfunction. While stopping a shot by Brayden Point, Tuukka Rask lost a skate blade, causing him to frantically wave at the officials to get their attention. Mikhail Sergachev fired a shot from the point that beat Rask, cutting the Boston lead to 3-2. After the goal, an incensed Rask showed the skate blade to the officials, tossed it into the corner, and went to the bench for repairs. Rask thought the play should’ve been blown dead, but the officials didn’t see the loose skate blade in time.
From Stephen Walkom, NHL senior VP and director of officiating supervision, on Rask’s skate-blade incident today: “The refs will use common sense. If Boston gets control of the puck, they will probably kill the play, but at no time will they disadvantage the opposing team.”
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) April 28, 2018
Through two periods, the Lightning owned a 25-18 edge in shots on goal, controlling puck possession for much of the game. However, when the Bruins got chances, they didn’t hesitate to convert them into goals.
Although the Bolts showed plenty of moxie, it wasn’t enough for them to contain the Bruins this afternoon.
Boston stretched their lead to 4-2 thanks to Marchand’s goal off a deflection of a Charlie McAvoy shot at the 3:32 mark of the third period. Bergeron and Marchand then combined to make it 5-2 when they worked a perfect cycle in the Lightning’s zone, with Bergeron firing one-timing a shot from the right circle past Vasilevskiy at the 10:11 mark. Late in the game, the Lightning got a power play chance with head coach Jon Cooper electing to pull Vasilevskiy to get an extra skater on the ice. The move backfired, as Tampa Bay couldn’t muster much momentum from the power play before giving up an empty net goal to Jake DeBrusk.
The Lightning won’t have much time to stew on this loss, as Game 2 is coming up on Monday night at Amalie Arena. Puck drops at 7 pm.
Game Notes
-This was the Lightning’s first home loss of the postseason.
-Girardi’s goal was his first of the playoffs.
-Sergachev is now on a two-game goal streak, as he also opened the scoring in Game 5 against New Jersey in Round 1.
-Vasilevskiy allowed five goals on 23 shots.
-Cedric Paquette tallied his first point of the playoffs with the primary assist on Girardi’s goal.
-Hedman’s secondary assist on Girardi’s goal also earned him his first point of the postseason.
Three Stars of the Game
1st Star: Patrice Bergeron – Two goals and one assist
2nd Star: Rick Nash – Two goals
3rd Star: David Pastrnak – Four assists
