Stanley Cup Playoffs: Tampa Bay Lightning rebounds to tie series at 1
By Lane Fahey
The Tampa Bay Lightning tied the series at one apiece with a 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.
After a disappointing end to Game 1 of Round 2 against the Boston Bruins in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning looked to step up their game and tie the series at one. The Lightning did just that, defeating the Bruins 4-2.
Game 1 did not look good for the Bolts. The Bruins were all over Andrei Vasilevskiy, and he cracked. The Bolts needed to bring its physical game up to match the same intensity of their opponent.
The Lightning was able to open up the scoring with a Power Play Goal from Yanni Gourde in the first period. Later on, defenseman Charlie McAvoy tied the game up for the Bruins.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Bolts kept the intensity going throughout the entire game, matching the physicality the Bruins brought in Game 1 of the series. In the second period, Tyler Johnson picked up his third goal of the postseason to put the Bolts up 2-1.
Going into the third with momentum, Lightning forward Ondrej Palat was able to put up a two-goal lead for the Bolts with a top-shelf shot that Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask just couldn’t stop.
Bruins defenseman Torey Krug was able to cut the Bolts lead to one after a shot right off of the puck drop. Despite the best efforts of the Bruins, Lightning forward Brayden Point scored an empty-netter to solidify the Bolt’s first win of the series.
Takeaways From The Game
The Lightning proved why they are the number one seed of the Eastern Conference. A physical game, the Bolts really shined and made Vasilevskiy proud this time around. Blocking 18 of the Bruins 20 shots on goal, Vasilevskiy came up with a .900 Save Percentage.
The Lightning’s younger players have seemed to step up their game during this series; especially in Game 2. Brayden Point, Yanni Gourde, and Mikhail Sergachev were all on the scoreboard for the night, with Point recording a four-point game.
A few players have seemed to lack presence on the ice so far this series. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos have yet to score any points in the series, and both had less than 17 minutes of ice time Game 2.
In order to progress throughout this series and further into playoffs, the Bolts’ star players like Stamkos and Kucherov must be dominant. They need to be strong together, and with the help of J.T. Miller, these top players can do that.
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Hopefully, the Lightning can keep momentum on their side as the series heads to the TD Garden in Boston for Games 3 and 4. The Bruins will definitely elevate their game, feeding off the energy of their hometown crowd. The Bolts will have to match this in order to remain successful.