Bruins Show Fight in Loss to Tampa

BOSTON - If Saturday night was a sign of things to come, we could be in for quite a spring around these parts.
In a battle between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference - their second showdown in five days - the Bruins and Lightning combined for a raucous affair at TD Garden, as the clubs combined for 94 penalty minutes in Tampa's 5-3 victory.
"I think it was more of a response, [Tampa] wanted to be better," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, referring to Boston's 2-1 win on Tuesday night in Tampa. "I thought we were the better team up there and they wanted to prove that - listen, I think both of us feel we're the best team in the Atlantic. We went up there, got the 2 points in their building, they wanted to respond.
"And for the simple reason as that, that the rivalry has developed now between the two of us and you're going to get some intense matchups. And that's what you got tonight."

We did indeed.

After a Chris Wagner-Barclay Goodrow bout turned up the heat midway through the first period, the temperature skyrocketed in the final minutes of the second as Boston pushed to cut into Tampa's 3-0 lead.
With Boston on the board thanks to a Charlie McAvoy wrister with 5:10 remaining in the middle frame, the Bruins were buzzing when Sean Kuraly appeared to push the puck just over the goal line to cut the Tampa lead to one.
But play continued and after the siren sounded to signal the play was under review, things turned ugly. It began with a tussle between heavyweights Zdeno Chara and Pat Maroon and escalated into chaos after Tampa forward Anthony Cirelli delivered a cross-check from behind to Chara during the scrum.
Charlie Coyle squared off with Cirelli. Sean Kuraly tackled Alex Killorn. Charlie McAvoy wrestled with Erik Cernak. And Ondrej Kase battled with Braydon Coburn.
Garden eruption unleashed.

"It's a very competitive game, two teams battling each other, both teams want to win the game and it was physical," said Chara. "That's part of this game and you're going to have games like that, where it's going to get a little bit more chippy than some other games.
"We always put a lot of emphasis to have each other's backs, and play as a unit, as a team, and I thought that you saw it tonight, that everybody responded in the right way."
And when it was all sorted out, the Bruins were within a goal as Kuraly's marker was put on the board to cut Tampa's deficit to 3-2 and inject some much-needed life into the Garden faithful late in the middle frame.
"You got two teams fighting for the top spot in the standings," said Kuraly, who was assessed a 10-minute misconduct during the scrum. "But I think it's a little more than that, too. We want to set the stage for what could possibly be to come. Two competitive teams that don't want to give an inch."
The rowdiness continued as the period came to a close, which, in the end, may have cost the Bruins. As Nick Ritchie and Blake Coleman battled as the buzzer sounded - both were assessed 10-minute misconducts - Brad Marchand was called for slashing on Coleman, sending Boston to the kill to start the third.
Tampa capitalized just 1:08 into the final frame as Killorn struck on the power play to give the Lightning back a two-goal advantage.
"Unfortunately, we took a penalty on the scrum at the end of the period," said Cassidy. "I'm not even sure what happened with Marchy, but we end up in the box, they don't. That took some life away from us on our power play, so the life we created kind of went by the wayside a little bit. They score on a power-play goal, and now you're climbing uphill again. If it's 3-2, I like our chances better."

Nevertheless, the Bruins kept pushing as David Pastrnak connected for a power-play goal of his own, his 48th tally of the season, to bring Boston within a goal once more at 6:37 of the third. And with just over seven minutes to play, Pastrnak had a chance to tie it but his breakaway attempt was turned aside by Andrei Vasilevskiy.
"The only thing I'm remembering right now is Vasilevskiy making a save on Pastrnak with five minutes left and a one-goal lead. That's all I got for you," Tampa coach Jon Cooper said following the game when asked to address the night's events.
In the end, the Bruins may have lost the game in the first six-plus minutes of the game when they surrendered two shorthanded goals just 1:02 apart on the same power play.
"You're two tops teams, so you're battling for top spots and know you may face each other in the playoffs," said Tuukka Rask. "You don't want to give an inch out there, so I guess that creates some bad blood for sure…we battled back quickly from the deficit. I would like to make a couple saves there, honestly, it's tough to go down 2-0 with two shots on net but that's how it goes sometimes."
And, sometimes, when two of the best teams in the NHL face off with less than a month to go in the regular season, and a potential playoff matchup on the horizon, all heck breaks loose.
"I don't really like to look into the future," said McAvoy. "But I think that's kind of what was going on out there tonight - kind of a feeling that we may see those guys again."