Since October 19, the Tampa Bay Lightning held first place in the Atlantic Division. For nearly six months, the top spot was theirs. After Thursday night’s contest against the Boston Bruins, they now enter an unfamiliar spot: dropping to second place in the Atlantic.
With just one point in the standings separating these two division rivals, the Lightning and Bruins faced off at the TD Garden in Boston seeking Atlantic Division supremacy. Following 60 minutes of angry, physical, playoff-like hockey, the Lightning dropped to the unfamiliar spot of second place in the division.
A combination of two Boston goals in 32 seconds, some bad puck luck, a couple of defensive breakdowns, and goaltender interference combined to hand the Lightning (51-22-4, 106 points) their third loss to the Bruins (48-17-11, 107 points) in as many meetings this season, this one by a 4-2 score.
While falling out of first place is unfamiliar for the Bolts, falling behind early against Boston has been a fairly common occurrence this season.
In the team’s last meeting on March 17 at Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay trailed 2-0 in the opening period before losing 3-0. Tonight’s contest also saw the Bolts fall behind 2-0 in the first period. A Ryan McDonagh turnover led to a 2-on-1 with Tommy Wingels and Tim Schaller. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made a save on Wingels’ shot. However, a loose puck bounced in off Schaller’s skate and in as he crashed the net, giving Boston a 1-0 lead in the final minute of the period. Just 32 seconds later, David Pastrnak notched his 32nd of the season when he scored after a faceoff win just four seconds after a power play started, putting Boston up 2-0.
It wasn’t a stretch to say the Lightning’s most important period of hockey would be the second period.
Early on, they would cash in on a power play, as J.T. Miller scored his eighth as a Bolt to cut Boston’s lead to 2-1 just 1:44 in. The second period saw a far better effort from the Lightning, who clamped down defensively and only gave up 3 shots, while throwing 11 towards Boston goalie Tuukka Rask. This period also saw things get quite testy between these two teams, punctuated by a scrap between Rask and Cory Conacher. Conacher crashed the net, resulting in him and a Bruin getting tangled up. Although Conacher never made contact with Rask, Rask didn’t appreciate Conacher being in his crease, so he started throwing punches and the two tangled, starting a major scrum.
The crowd at TD Garden nearly witnessed a goalie fight, but as Vasilevskiy crossed center ice, he was intercepted by the officials. In the end, Vasilevskiy earned two for unsportsmanlike conduct, while Conacher and Rask each got four for roughing, giving Boston a power play they failed to capitalize on.
Earlier this week, the NHL officially handed over the final call of goalie interference to the Situation Room in Toronto.
That came into play during the third period when Alex Killorn appeared to have tied the game up. However, the officials ruled on the ice that Anthony Cirelli interfered with Rask, preventing him from making the save. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper challenged the play, seeking a reversal. Unfortunately for the Lightning, the officials in Toronto felt the original call should stand, keeping the score 2-1. The Bruins increased the lead to 3-1 thanks to a nifty passing play between Torey Krug, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron resulting in a Bergeron goal. In a season marked with defensive breakdowns and puck chasing by the Lightning, that goal served as a perfect example of it.
Tampa Bay wouldn’t go away just yet, as Victor Hedman scored his 15th goal of the season with just over six minutes left to cut the Bruins’ lead to 3-2. Although the Lightning generated some chances down the stretch, Marchand scored an empty net goal to seal it, punctuating a ferocious period that saw multiple scrums and pushing and shoving throughout.
The Lightning return to action Friday night when they travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers at 7 pm.
Game Notes
-Yanni Gourde notched an assist on Hedman’s goal, giving him 59 points this season. He is now tied with Ondrej Palat for second place among rookie scorers in Lightning history.
-Vasilevskiy finished with 26 saves on 29 shots against, while Rask stopped 26 of 28 shots.
-Vasilevskiy is 0-3-1 in his career against Boston.
-The Lightning have lost four in a row and eight of their last nine against the Bruins (1-6-2).
Three Stars of the Game
1st Star: Patrice Bergeron – One goal and two assists
2nd Star: David Pastrnak – One goal and one assist
3rd Star: Tukka Rask – 26 saves
