By: Liz Rizzo | Follow me on Twitter @pastagrl88
Tonight Captain Patrice Bergeron became the fourth Bruin in the club’s history to record 1,000 career points trailing only a few points behind Phil Esposito. Players poured off the bench to celebrate the milestone and fittingly longtime linemate Brad Marchand would be involved in helping Bergeron nab the historical point.
GAME RECAP
Things looked flat-footed for the Bruins early on during the first period as they trailed the Lightning 1-0 when Nicholas Paul wristed one in past Ullmark at 8:57. The B’s tied things up later in the period when David Krejci notched his sixth goal of the season. Both Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk were assessed with the assists. Boston would get a late power play chance however the opportunity was short-lived as Brad Marchand skated off to the bench on a slashing penalty to close the first 20 minutes of play.
Both teams opened the second period on a four-on-four and luckily the Bruins were able to kill off the penalty. The B’s were back on the man advantage when Pierre-Edouard Bellemare went off for slashing against Pavel Zacha. Boston responded with a power play goal via Nick Foligno who scored off a loose puck from Zacha’s one-timer attempt.
The Bruins’ Charlie Coyle made it 3-1 when he squeezed the puck in past Vasilevskiy. The play came under review as there was discussion on whether or not the puck crossed the goal line prior to the net dislodging. On ice-officials determined the play as a good goal.
Boston would get another power play chance when Corey Perry was nabbed for a hi-stick against Nick Foligno. Trent Frederic would hit the boards awkwardly and was seen going down the tunnel. He briefly returned to the game however it was announced prior to the third that would not return due to an upper-body injury.
Brad Marchand made it 4-1 at 15:08 and led the celebration on the ice as Patrice Bergeron nabbed his 1,000th career point for the assist on the goal.
Matt Grzelcyk opened the third in the penalty box when he was nabbed for hooking against Nikita Kucherov. Moments later the B’s would get on the power play when Pierre-Edouard Bellemare skated off for tripping against Taylor Hall. David Pastrnak made it 5-1 scoring off a pass from Jake DeBrusk during the man advantage.
Tampa’s Rudolfs Balcers gave the Lighting their second point of the night at 4:02. A slashing penalty from Charlie Coyle against Vladislav Namestnikov gave the Lighting a fighting chance when Nicholas Paul scored his second goal of the night, making it 5-3.
In a last-minute push, Tampa Bay pulled out netminder Vasilevskiy at 3:50 left to the period for the extra attacker as they looked to even the score. There were many scary moments down the Bruins’ end and once again Ullmark made incredible timely saves. Vasilevskiy came back into the game briefly but ultimately was pulled for a final scoring chance.
Boston would go on to defeat the Lighting 5-3, snapping their four-game winning streak; the B’s would win their seventh game in a row. Ullmark made 32 saves while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves. The Bruins are now 17-2 and lead the league.
FINAL SCORE: BOS-5, TBL-3
TOTAL SHOTS ON GOAL: BOS-29, TBL-35
NEXT GAME: Boston Bruins vs. Florida Panthers, Wednesday 23rd with puck drop @ 7:00 pm
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