GOLD STAR: Tuukka Rask stopped 26 of the 28 shots that he faced. He also made a key save in the third period on Nikita Kucherov when it was a one-goal game. The key save came just before Patrice Bergeron’s insurance score during 4-on-4 play. He also stopped 10-of-11 shots in the third period as Tampa Bay was trying to do anything they could to at least eke out a point and hold onto a share of first place in the Atlantic Division. So Rask was once again on point after playing excellent back-to-back games on Boston’s most recent road trip. That’s a very good sign. But Rask also stepped up and started a brawl with Corey Conacher when the diminutive forward didn’t leave his crease fast enough, and ended up throwing a couple of punches before a team-wide melee broke out. Seeing that level of emotion from the normally placid Rask is a really good sign for the postseason.
BLACK EYE: J.T. Miller scored a power play goal to get the Lightning on the board in the second period, but that was about it for a player that had a forgettable night against the Bruins. Miller was a game-worst minus-3 and finished with five giveaways in an intense, gritty game that had playoffs written all over it. So it was a little bit good and a whole lot of bad from the “other” player Tampa received in the Ryan McDonagh deal. McDonagh also had a tough night with a turnover that led to the B’s first goal from Tim Schaller, and a deflection off the Tampa D-man on the penalty kill wound up supplying David Pastrnak with his power play strike. Guys like Miler and McDonagh are going to need to elevate their games for the Lightning in the postseason after Steve Yzerman made a point to go out and get them at the deadline.
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TURNING POINT: The Bruins simply turned it on at the end of the first period and tuned out the Lightning. It took nearly an entire period where the B’s outshot the Bolts by a 16-5 margin, but that dominance turned into two goals scored in a 32-second span. Tim Schaller literally crashed (into) the net for the rebound of a Tommy Wingels shot, and knocked the net off the moorings immediately after pushing the puck into the net. Then the Bruins went on a power play and David Pastrnak scored on a deflection off Ryan McDonagh’s stick just four seconds into the power play possession. The Bruins never trailed again while pouring on the offense and outplaying the Lightning for 60 minutes.
HONORABLE MENTION: Patrice Bergeron finished with a goal and three points along with a plus-2 rating in 19:48 of ice time. He continues to play one strong game after another since coming back from his fractured right foot. The goal he scored was a thing of beauty as he and Marchand dominated possession during 4-on-4 play, setting up a Torey Krug backdoor pass to Bergeron for the finish. He only finished with a single shot on net, two hits and a blocked shot while winning 12-of-21 face-offs, but he was a dominant force winning one-on-one battles, making plays and cycling pucks with Marchand and Pastrnak while playing his typically solid brand of defense. Truthfully it could have gone to just about anybody on the Bruins roster as everybody played at an exceedingly high level while they once again dominated a falling Tampa Bay Lightning bunch.
BY THE NUMBERS: 3 – the team-leading number of blocked shots for Noel Acciari, who took one shot off the inside of his right leg while killing a penalty and stayed on the ice to finish off his successful shift while clearly in all kinds of pain.
Boston Bruins
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Well, it’s our team right there in a nutshell. We stick together, and I think we’ve done that all year, no matter who is in the lineup. We trust our players to go out and do the job and have each other’s backs. That’s what makes it a special group." –Bruce Cassidy, on a physical, intense win over the Tampa Bay Lightning to move into first place in the Eastern Conference.
