Bruins Drop OT Heartbreaker to Tampa in Game 4

BOSTON - The Bruins' season is on the brink.
After a gut wrenching, 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night in Game 4, Boston now faces a 3-1 deficit in their second-round series.

"Desperate hockey…we've shown character all year," said Patrice Bergeron. "I've spoken about that, about the resilience in this room, so it's time to show it."
After falling behind 2-0 in the first period for the second straight game, the Bruins got back into it on David Pastrnak's power-play goal with 4:32 to play in the first period. Bergeron then added back-to-back tallies - one on the power play (2:04 of the second) and one shorthanded (6:36 of the third) - to give Boston a 3-2 lead.
"We battled back," said Charlie McAvoy. "We were down 2-0, not where we wanted to be but that's where we were. A lot of heart in this room, we battle all the way back and we feel like we are in a very good position and to see it slip away the way it did, it sucks. It's unfortunate really."

The Bruins seemed to be in strong position to even the series, 2-2, when some controversial officiating cropped up once again. With McAvoy wheeling around the Bruins net, he appeared to be hauled down to the ice by Nikita Kucherov, freeing the puck to J.T. Miller along the boards.
Miller then found Steven Stamkos in the slot, where the Tampa captain blasted a one-timer by Tuukka Rask (24 saves) to knot the game at 3 with 7:04 to play. Despite pleas from the Bruins, there was no penalty called on the play.
"Seem to be going down this road a lot lately in these things, about the non-calls," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "It looked like he reached around, pulled him down. Charlie's a strong guy, but it wasn't called, and it's in our net, and that's that. There was nothing you can do about it after; you've got to keep playing, and we did, but they made the first play in overtime."
That the Lightning did. Just 3:18 into the extra session, Dan Girardi threw one towards the net that tipped off of Brian Gionta in front for the winner.
"I thought we battled hard the whole game," said Zdeno Chara. "We got the lead and then that kind of situation developed and they made a quick play to the slot. It was an even game and it went to the OT and just a simple play.
"I don't know exactly what happened if it got deflected off the skate or something must've hit something, just an unlucky bounce I guess."

Krug Injured

Torey Krug (two assists) left the game in the third period and did not return after careening awkwardly into the boards following a collision with Alex Killorn. Cassidy said that Krug has a lower-body injury and will be evaluated further.
"He went into the boards," said Cassidy. "Killorn kind of had his stick wrapped around him, so I don't think there was anywhere he could go, right into the boards and obviously lost his footing from there. Lower-body injury, he will be evaluated further. Obviously didn't finish the game, so that's never great, but we'll see how he is in the morning."

Donato, Gionta Get Call

Cassidy made a drastic change to his bottom six for Game 4, inserting Ryan Donato and Gionta into the lineup between Sean Kuraly, while scratching Riley Nash and Danton Heinen. Donato landed three shots on goal in just under 13 minutes of ice time, while Gionta had one hit and a blocked shot in 11:18. The duo, along with Noel Acciari, was on the ice for Tampa's winning the goal in overtime.
"We lost, so the easy answer is no," Cassidy said when asked if he was satisfied with the changes he made. "A couple of them were on the ice for the goal against at the end, so that never looks good. But by the same token, it wasn't a huge breakdown. They kind of stuck their stick in there on a net-front play that we had decent coverage. Otherwise, I thought they played well, did their jobs."

Special Delivery

One bright spot for the Bruins? Special teams.
The B's went 2 for 4 on the power play and also delivered with a 3-for-4 night on the kill, including Bergeron's shorthanded goal in the third.
"I think we've got to continue to do that," said Marchand, who had two assists. "They've obviously been big for both sides, you know, so it is in playoffs. You know, it's a big momentum swing one way or another, penalty kill or power play, so we've got to keep that going."