After a disappointing Game 1 for the Bruins, Game 2 almost seemed like a must-win for them. Although coming back from a 2-0 deficit isn’t impossible (they just did it against the Canadiens), it would put the Bruins in a hole that would be extremely difficult to climb out of. The Bruins don’t match up very well against the Lightning overall, speed tends to overcome size and physicality in hockey. The Bruins held tough though and, despite letting up 5 goals, Tim Thomas still made some spectacular saves to solidify the Game 2 win for the Bs.
13 seconds into the first period, the Bruin’s turned the puck over in the neutral zone and Vinny LeCavalier raced down the ice. He shot the puck wide of the net, which took a lucky bounce off the boards and Adam Hall shot the puck past a surprised Thomas.
Here we go again.
6 minutes left into the first period, Dennis Seidenberg shot a rocket from the point that was tipped past Roloson by Nathan Horton for the Bruins’ 3rd powerplay goal in 44 chances. The lead would not last long however as, with 6.5 seconds left in the first, Steven Stamkos took a desperation turn-around shot that was tipped past Thomas by Martin St. Louis. Despite 18 shots on goal in the first period, the Bruins went into the second period with the deficit.
It wasn’t until the second period in which the real show began. 48 seconds into the period, Tyler Seguin once again showed why he didn’t belong on the bench. He busted past 2 Lightning defenders with speed and some fancy footwork, then shot the puck by a diving Roloson who never had a chance. The goal was as spectacular as the one he scored in Game 1. The Bruins, and Tyler Seguin, weren’t done. About a minute and a half after that, Krejci scored on a tip from another Dennis Seidenberg shot. 6:30 into the period, it was once again Seguin’s time to shine as he rifled the puck past Roloson on a nice feed from Nathan Horton for his second goal of the night. After a Vinny LeCavalier goal, Michael Ryder scored 2 rebound goals as the Bruins went into the locker room with a 6-3 lead after two. Seguin had 2 goals and 2 assists in that period. The final period from the Bruins was a mess. Roloson was pulled and the Lightning’s back up goalie, Mike Smith, took his place. The Bruins, however, were too busy letting up scoring chances for the Lightning to notice. Stamkos scored early in the third on a rocket past Thomas’ shoulder and, with 6 minutes left, Dominic Moore scored in a scramble in front of the net which involved the puck bouncing off Thomas’ maskless head and into the goal. The Lightning played phenomenal in the third and could have easily tied the game on all of their scoring chances. In the end, the Bruins were able to prevail and tie the series at one game a piece.
The Good:
Holy cow is Tyler Seguin going to be good. He has 3 goals and 3 assists in two games. He has the speed and skills that the Bruins were needing in this series to combat the speed and skills of the Lightning’s Big 3. All the Bruins fans who were questioning Claude Julien’s decision to bench Seguin now appear to have every right to. The kid is on fire. If he is able to control a game like this during the playoffs at age 19, I can’t wait to see what he has in store for Bruins fans once his game matures a little bit. He is the pure scorer that the Bruins have desperately been needing since Joe Thornton. Thanks, Brian Burke, I really hope you enjoy the inconsistent play of Phil Kessel. The question now is—What do we do with Seguin when Bergy comes back? We could either go with 5 defensemen, which is a liability because of the speed of the Lightning, or we could sit a forward. My vote would be with sitting Shawn Thornton. As much as I love the guy, he really hasn’t showed up much in these playoffs. Plus, he is a liability due to his hot head. The Lightning’s powerplay is so good, we can’t risk any penalties for stupid behavior. Yesterday morning I would have suggested benching Ryder, but I think he earned a spot for the time being due to his 2 goal performance yesterday. This one is going to be a tough one for Julien, but I don’t think there is any way Seguin will be taking a seat. (Side Note: It was good to see both Bergeron and Savard yesterday attending the game, their skills are truly being missed.)
Also, I like how Roloson was pulled after only 2 periods and giving up 6 goals. That’s going to hurt his GAA and his Save %. More importantly, its going to hurt his confidence. He went into last nights game as, statistically, the best goalie in the postseason. He loses that honor as the best goalie should never let up 6 goals in 2 period, including 5 goals in one period. He has to be shaken up a little bit after that performance. This game reminded me of Game 1 against the Flyers in which Boucher let up 7 goals. Clearly, after that, he was no longer the reliable goalie that the Flyers expected from him. Hopefully, its just downhill from here for Roloson
The Bad:
The Bruin’s defense did not look sharp last night. Although they got the win, there were a lot of worrisome aspects of last nights game that the team will have to take a look at. First of all, St. LeStamkos combined for 9 points yesterday. That can’t happen if the Bruins want to advance. Secondly, the Bruins defense let up 5 breakaway opportunities to the Lightning players (all 5, by the way, were stopped by Timmy.) The Bruins defense cannot keep relying on Thomas to clean up their messes. He needs more help. The Bruins have let up 10 goals in two games against the Lightning. They need to slow down the speed of the Lightning by any means necessary. This 1-3-1 nonsense by the Lightning needs to be contained. If someone told me that the Lightning were going to score 5 goals (again) in Game 2, I would have expected a loss by the Bruins. They need to play better defensively if they are going to advance.
Game 3 is Thursday, May 19th at 8:00 on Versus.
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