cutPhoto Courtesy Of NHL.com

By: Garrett Haydon | Follow Me On Twitter @thesportsguy97

Pre-Game Notes

Arena: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Home: Boston Bruins (37-17-9)

Away: Tampa Bay Lightning (49-11-4)

Boston’s Lineup

Forwards

Marchand-Bergeron-Heinen

DeBrusk-Krejci-Johansson

Nordstrom-Coyle-Backes

Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner

Defense

Chara-McAvoy

Krug-Carlo

Grzelcyk-Moore

Goalies

Rask

Halak

Tampa Bay’s Lineup

Forwards

Palat-Stamkos-Miller

Johnson-Point-Kucherov

Killorn-Cirelli-Gourde

Erne-Paquette-Joseph

Defense

Hedman-Girardi

McDonagh-Cernak

Sergachev-Stralman

Goalies

Domingue

Vasilevskiy

First Period

The game got out to a fast start as the tempo got both teams involved right from puck drop. David Backes and Adam Erne wasted no time as they dropped the gloves after a scrum in front of the Tampa Bay net.

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The Bruins seemed ready to go right from the start as they got a few chances in the attacking zone. The Lightning seemed to own the possession as the period went on but weren’t able to find any great opportunities. The Bruins started to pile up some opportunities as Noel Acciari and Charlie McAvoy put pucks on Louis Domingue. The Bruins began to take the play to the Lightning towards the end of the period as they set up shop in the attacking zone.

The Bruins physical play was a positive in the first period as they didn’t give an inch. Mathieu Joseph nearly gave Tampa Bay the lead but rang the iron with a shot from the circle. The Bruins peppered Domingue with 17 shots on goal in the period but were unable to solve the Lightning goaltender.

Score: Tied 0-0

Second Period

The Bruins continued to move the puck effectively in the offensive zone which kept the Lightning on their heels. The third line continued their nice game with another good shift which nearly resulted in the game’s first goal. The Bruins went to the penalty kill as Chara was called for cross checking giving Tampa their first power play. The B’s killed the penalty as the Lightning failed to get any shots on goal.

The Bruins would go to the power play for the first time as Victor Hedman was called for a penalty nearly eight minutes into the period. Jake DeBrusk got the B’s on the board as his pass in front was redirected off a stick and into the net at the 8:43 mark of the period.

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The B’s continued to be quick to the puck as they looked to be hungry for a larger lead. The Bruins also kept a lot of the possession in the middle period as the Lightning looked to be gassed in their own end. Tuukka Rask continued to have a relatively quiet night as the Bruins were seemingly in the offensive zone all period long.

The Lightning started to get their skating game going in the final moments of the period but still were unable to get any significant scoring chances against Rask and the Bruins defense.

Score: 1-0 Bruins

Third Period

The Lightning began the period with a strong shift in the Boston end but thanks to Rask the Bruins maintained the lead. Joakim Nordstrom nearly doubled the lead but Domingue made a spectacular glove save to keep it a one goal game. The Bruins continued to great sone grade A scoring chances but couldn’t solve Domingue to extend the lead. Sean Kuraly would head to the locker room after a high hit by Brayden Coburn.

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The Bruins started to struggle defending their own zone as the Lightning made a push for the tying goal. Hedman was called for another penalty, this time for tripping which resulted in another Boston power play. The Lightning killed the Bruins man advantage as they only got a couple good scoring chances. Immediately following the power play, Acciari slammed home a rebound in front to double the Boston lead.

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Patrice Bergeron buried a feed from Danton Heinen to triple the Bruins advantage in just 45 seconds which sent the crowd into a frenzy.

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The Bruins opened the floodgates as Brad Marchand broke free for a breakaway to make it 4-0 less than a minute after the Bergeron goal.

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Anthony Cirelli stopped the bleeding as he deflected a shot past Rask shortly after the fourth Bruins goal.

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The Bruins picked up another man advantage as Hedman went off yet again for hooking Charlie Coyle. A penalty to McAvoy canceled out the power play which resulted in a four on four. The B’s killed the penalty as the Lightning failed to find the back of the net. Immediately following the man advantage, Matt Grzelcyk was called for a cross check as the B’s went to the penalty kill yet again.

The Lightning pulled the goalie which resulted in a six on four with less than two minutes remaining. The Bruins killed it off, making it 15 straight games with at least a point.

Final Score: 4-1 Bruins

Three Stars Of The Game

First Star: Acciari. The fourth liner and the whole line set the tone from the start and were rewarded with a couple points.

Second Star: Rask. While not very busy, Tuukka was solid in goal and kept the Bruins in the game in the first two periods.

Third Star: Marchand. The winger was all over the place in this one, getting a goal and playing just an incredibly solid game.

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