As bad as the first period was for Tampa Bay, the second period was good for a 180 degree spin on things as the Lightning stormed back into the game. Leading the charge for Tampa Bay was none other than Teddy Purcell. At 6:55 of the second, Purcell started things off after getting a loose puck and dancing around the Bruins defense to slip a backhand shot past Tim Thomas to make it 3-1.
Just 1:03 after that, Purcell again would strike. This time Purcell had time to gather the puck on the right wing and fire a wicked wrister past Thomas to build the rally even stronger to make it 3-2. With the Lightning seizing momentum of the game, Bruins coach Claude Julien opted not to use his timeout to get his team back on the same page. That would prove to be a mistake.
At 10:58 of the period, Sean Bergenheim would score his playoff leading ninth goal after outworking and outmuscling Tomas Kaberle for the puck. Bergenheim would swoop out from behind the net and slip it by Thomas to tie the game 3-3. While Thomas again made ten saves in the second period, it would be all Mike Smith for Tampa in the second stopping all 13 shots he faced.
Once again, however, the period would end with another incident as Nathan Horton boarded Steve Downie into the end boards, with Downie’s head smashing against the glass putting him down on the ice. Referee Tim Peel would call Horton for boarding but also booked Downie for diving. Downie left the ice to be treated for his apparent injury while Adam Hall served the penalty. It was Peel who also called Downie for his penalty at the end of the first period giving him a ten-minute misconduct as well.
This sets up for a tough third period with the teams looking to steal this one and gain an advantage heading into Game 5.
