A 2011 eastern conference finals rematch takes place starting at Amalie Arena on Saturday at 3pm. That post season was the first and only time the Boston Bruins and the Tampa bay Lightning have faced off. For the Lightning they would get knocked out in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion.
That season saw a similar result in the regular season that Tampa bay Lightning fans saw this season. In four regular season meetings in 2011 the Boston Bruins beat the Lightning three games to one. The Lightning were outscored 15-8 during those four games. In the best of seven game series, the Lightning would only win one game in Boston. 2011 was also the first time Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman would see playoff action in their careers.
Deja-Vu
The parallels from 2011 and 2018 are freakishly close. As I said earlier Boston took the regular season 3-1, they took this seasons series 3-1. The scoring was closer, but the Lightning were outscored in those four games 10-8. Both teams traded shutouts (Boston on March 17th the Lightning on April 3rd). The other two games, both won by Boston went 4-2 and 3-2 in Boston’s favor.
Heating up the scoring sheets
David Pasternik and Nikita Kucherov are currently two of the top five players in points. Kucherov tallied 10 points in four games, while Pasterniuk got 13 in seven games. Both men have five goals to their credit, but Pasternik has eight assists to Kucherov’s five. Although one would say Kucherov has been more clutch to his team’s 4-1 series victory over the New Jersey Devils with three game winning goals.
Battle of the net minders
Vezina finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy will take his stellar first round success into round two against the Boston Bruins. Tukka Rask, however had a much tougher round in round one. Vasilevskiy finished the first round with stellar numbers (2.01 goals against average and .941 save percentage). Rask seemed at times to struggle against the young Toronto Maple Leafs through seven games (2.94 GAA and .899 save pct.). In their final meeting of the season on April 3rd, the Lightning were able to get to Rask for four goals in route to a Vasilevskiy shut out. Rask has the more experience in the playoffs, but can he stop a Lightning squad when it truly counts?
Key to this series
Even though the Lightning were able to dispatch of the New Jersey Devils in five games, they need to make sure this series does not go much longer than that. Their last lengthy playoff run in 2015 had them play in two six games series and two seven game series. By the end you had injuries piling up to key players and fatigue setting in.
Boston coming off a roller coaster ride against Toronto will also need to find a way to get through the series quickly, the longer it goes could be beneficial for the Lightning who are well rested after a week off. At the same time a longer series could benefit Boston as well. The Bruins are a very methodical team and can slow down the Lightning’s quick strike offense very quickly.
X-Factors
The Goalies
Cliché I know, but it is a tale of two goalies here. One has played better than expected, the other hasn’t. Both goalies had a similar save percentage for the regular season (Vasilevskiy .919 – Rask .917) and their goals against averages weren’t far off (Vasilevskiy 2.62 – Rask 2.36).
Vasilevskiy struggled down the stretch of the regular season before putting on a few nice performances in the Devils series. The Tampa goalie seems to have reclaimed his early season form.
Rask needs to be the Rask of old, if he gives the Lightning even an inch… this could go very poorly for the Bruins.
Speed / Depth Scoring
The Lightning need to use their speed and depth scoring to overwhelm the Bruins. If they allow Boston to take control of a game and puck possession, the Bruins will win.
Wrap Up / Series Prediction
Once again if the Lightning control the puck and play their game, this well be a very quick series and will end in five games.
