TAMPA — After a slow start, the Bruins found their legs early in the second period as they rode two goals each from Patrice Bergeron and Rick Nash to take the home-ice advantage away from the Lightning and grab a 1-0 lead in their second-round series.
Similar to the Toronto series, the top line of Bergeron (assist), Brad Marchand (one goal, three assists) and David Pastrnak (four assists) got off to a flying start with 11 combined points, and they were a plus-12 collectively.
Tuukka Rask was very sharp in this one as he saved 34 of the 36 shots he faced. One of the goals allowed came when Rask's skate blade came off and the play was not blown dead.
Box score
Third-period observations
5:40: Lightning decided to pull the goalie with almost 7 minutes left, and Jake DeBrusk pots an empty-netter. It's all over now. GOAL: Bruins 6, Lightning 2.
5:34: Bergeron rips a shot past Vasilevskiy off a nice feed from Marchand. GOAL: Bruins 5, Lightning 2.
5:23: Marchand gets to the front of the net and tips in a shot from Charlie McAvoy. Pastrnak had another nice pass to get the puck to the point for the setup. GOAL: Bruins 4, Lightning 2.
BRAD MARCHAND NETS THE DEFLECTION OFF THE BACKHAND!#NHLBruins 4 - 2 #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/hWbGadzxA2
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 28, 2018
MIKHAIL SERGACHEV BURIES THE WRISTER FOR A POWER PLAY GOAL! ALL WHILE RASK'S SKATE BLADE WAS OFF! I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE!#NHLBruins 3 - 2 #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/sZIB8CirbR
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 28, 2018
RICK NASH. WHAT. AN. ABSOLUTE. ROCKET. BRUINS LEAD BY 2 OFF THIS INCREDIBLE SNIPE!#NHLBruins 3 - 1 #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/brGAUApP56
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 28, 2018
DAN GIRARDI! GIRARDI RIPS ONE HOME PAST RASK! BOLTS WITHIN 1!#NHLBruins 2 - 1 #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/lYeiuf2Mib
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 28, 2018
PATRICE BERGERON DOUBLES THE BRUINS LEAD! WHAT A PASS BY PASTRNAK!#NHLBruins 2 - 0 #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/xGGXrtARIf
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 28, 2018
A deflection from Rick Nash puts the @NHLBruins up 1-0 in Tampa!
Stream #BOSvsTBL here: https://t.co/ypEzC9zVuL pic.twitter.com/KBvoAZxL6M
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 28, 2018
- Bruce Cassidy didn't tweak the lineup at practice Friday after Game 7. Heinen, who returned to the lineup and scored a goal after being a healthy scratch in Game 6, remained as the third-line left wing with Nash and Backes.
- McQuaid was hit into the boards hard in Game 7 after making a great play to prevent another Maple Leafs goal. It seemed the Bruins defenseman was done for the night, but he returned and remained in the lineup in Friday's practice. Nick Holden, who only played in Game 3 in the first round, would slot in if McQuaid did not play Saturday.
- In an ideal world, the Bruins would have gotten another day or two off before diving into another series. "Well obviously getting back at it is the only choice," Cassidy said pregame. Indeed, that's the price the Bruins will have to pay for not closing out the series against the Maple Leafs when they had a 3-1 lead.
- The Bruins have only played the Lightning once in the playoffs. Boston beat Tampa, 4-3, to win the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011, and went on to win the Stanley Cup.