The B's jumped out to a commanding lead that led Roloson to the bench for the third period, but the Lightning did not quit. They stormed back to make it a one-goal lead but ran out of time as the B's evened the series at a game apiece.
Now, the two teams head to Tampa Bay where Roloson and the Lightning will look to tighten things up on both ends of the ice.
Paul Kennedy, the Lightning rinkside reporter for FOXSportsFlorida.com, has been covering the Lightning every step of the way. He was nice enough to answer some questions about what happened in Game 2 and what we should expect from both teams in Game 3.
NESN.com: What can the Lightning take out of their third-period performance, which was pretty dominant and got them back into Game 2?
Paul Kennedy: First, what an entertaining 11-goal NASCAR finish that was! They were swapping fenders and paint for 60 minutes. Heroes and villains, breakaways and crashes, a Boston legend born in Tyler Seguin and Tim Thomas sprawled — without his mask — taking wristers off his chin. Did you notice, nine of the 11 goals were scored at the north end of the TD Garden, all in the same net? Note to Garden staff: replace red bulb. Two goals were scored by Tampa Bay in the fringes of the first period, a record five by the Bruins in the fabulously frantic second, and two more by the Lightning in the "hold your breath" third.
The last time the Bruins tallied five in a single playoff period was 1988 en route to the Stanley Cup Finals, four years before Seguin was born, three before Steven Stamkos, and, by coincidence, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury were both just five years of age — but I digress.
By the time the team charter touched down in Tampa at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, two things had been made abundantly clear.
First, the Lightning, even graced by remarkable speed, can't prosper trading chances with the Bruins. Second, Tampa Bay is never out of a game. Had Vinny Lecavalier not fanned on a last-minute gaping-net rebound, the Bolts would have rallied from a three goal deficit to send the game into overtime. We might still be playing.
The Lightning returned to the ice following the second period down 6-3. Game, set, match to many, especially with godsend goaltender Dwayne Roloson pulled and backup Mike Smith making his career playoff debut. Tampa Bay would outshoot Boston 15-8 over the final period, kill two more penalties in the process (don't know exactly what Ryan Malone may have said or done to draw the officials ire, but he was a marked man all night, whistled for three minors), and Smitty registered eight saves.
The manner in which the Bolts generated chances off turnovers produced five breakaways. Recall at the outset of the second period that Marty St. Louis was in alone and fired above Thomas and the crossbar.
Had that puck found the net, and Tampa Bay scored to balloon to a 3-1 lead, this may have been an entirely different second period. As it was, Seguin countered, registered the first of his two goals to tie the game two-all. He'd later add two more assists, and Boston's confidence soared.
NESN.com: Dwayne Roloson had his worst game of the playoffs by far. Is there any cause for concern in regards to his performance, and what can be expected of him going forward?
PK: Dwayne insists on his "12-Hour Rule." Like Ray Allen shooting 3’s, whatever happened — good or bad — the previous night has no bearing on tomorrow. He's learned in 41 years of living to skate on an even keel. After debuting with a shutout in Washington on Jan. 4th, Roloson was shelled one night later in Pittsburgh, pulled after allowing five goals on 27 shots — he allowed 6 on 27 in the Garden on Tuesday. In his next two games, starting in Ottawa three nights later, Rolly bounced back, stopping 32 of 33 Ottawa shots, followed by a second shutout of the Caps.
A case could also be made that he was brilliant in the opening period of Game 2. After Adam Hall's improbable backhander gave Tampa Bay the early lead 13 seconds in, Guy Boucher was forced to call a timeout — with the lead — less than six minutes later. Boston owned the puck. Not only did the Bolts go nine minutes without a single shot on goal, but over a 13-minute span, the B's held a 14-2 shot advantage — not conducive to future success if you're employed as the Lightning netminder. If not for Roloson, the Bruins would have counterpunched quicker than they did.
The Lightning — due in large measure to Rolly's play, also came within a single second of a 5-on-3 kill before Nathan Horton finally registered the power-play goal against a doubly screened Roloson. That was a huge goal, amidst the boos and grumbling of Bruins fans watching the B's power play again struggle, that tied the contest 1-1.
NESN.com: Steven Stamkos delivered arguably his best performance of the playoffs in Game 2. How important is getting him going, especially given the continued production of Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier?
PK: Nobody in the NHL scored as many goals over the past two regular seasons as did Steven Stamkos. "Seen Stamkos" was the club's marketing campaign his rookie year, and now two seasons later, he's been baptized into his first Stanley Cup playoffs. It's not only his goal-scoring that's been impressive through matchups with Pittsburgh and Washington. He's defended, backchecked, forechecked and gone hard to the net. Stammer's all-round growth has been as impressive as that playoff beard he's sporting. In short, he's no longer a kid.
Stamkos is also driven to achieve and is exceptionally well-conditioned. Note his jump in the final minutes of the game when all were tiring. He was roaring through center.
Among forwards, his 26 shifts tied Lecavalier for the team lead. He posted a team-high seven shots on goal, and he triggered the third-period comeback with his fifth postseason goal. Add two more assists, and that's a three-point night. Tampa Bay's "Big Three" all scored goals, and Lecavalier — with a four-point performance — St. Louis and Stammer combined for nine points and 15 shots. That's a tremendous amount of pressure from three men.
NESN.com: Guy Boucher, understandably, looked upset at times during Game 2, especially after some careless plays by the Lightning in the neutral zone. What do you expect him and his staff to focus on in the coming days leading up to Game 3?
PK: Structure, structure, structure. Today’s word is structure. Since Guy Boucher arrived last summer, he has emphasized a defensive structure that would produce correlating offensive opportunities. Lost near Bunker Hill was Tampa Bay's vaunted 1-3-1 trap. The Bruins scored four of their five second-period goals at even strength, shredding the Bolts' efforts to slow the buzzing B's.
Boucher described that memorable period as "Pond hockey — we got the puck, now they have puck, now we have the puck."
That is not structure. Boston registered only nine shots in the second, but scored five times. And Michael Ryder may have offered the playoff game of his career. Two goals in the period, along with an assist, and a plus-2. That's like belting three home runs on a day Ted Williams cracked four. He skated in the Seguin shadow.
Tampa Bay is convinced, had it stayed within its structure in the second, it could have captured both wins in Boston. Credit the Bruins for forcing the play away from Boucher's game plan.
NESN.com: The Bruins were able to end the Lightning’s eight-game winning streak with a 6-5 victory in Game 2. How will Tampa Bay respond in front of its own fans?
PK: First, to all heading south to sunny Florida, bring a sweater! The NHL's "Ice Czar," Dan Craig, who did an incredible job of transforming Fenway Park into a Winter Classic ice capade, has helped install a dehumidification system in the St. Pete Times Forum. He and the league experienced great success in their 2004 Stanley Cup run into June with the system, lowering the dew point by pumping 17,000 cubic feet of cold, dry air each minute into the arena. This forces the warm air out through ceiling vents. The result is good ice, and a chill inside, far cooler than 90 degree temps on the Bay. So, dress for the occasion.
The Lightning are the toast of Tampa Bay, and more than 20,000 will pack the Forum. It's an impossible ticket and one of the league's louder venues. The team feeds off the faithful. Clearly, Boston would benefit from scoring early. Here was Washington's Mike Knuble, following a four game sweep, of the ferocity he felt when the Bolts got going at home:
"They're uncanny when they want to get a goal. It's like they just snap their fingers or hit a button. They just dial it up," Knuble said. "You can see it's like they're flipping a switch. It leaves you flabbergasted."
The atmosphere will be electric.
Thanks again to Paul Kennedy for answering our questions. Please check back before every game of the Bruins-Lightning series for more Across Enemy Lines. You also can read NESN.com Bruins reporter Douglas Flynn's contributions to this feature on FOXSportsFlorida.com.
