But outside of that isolated segment, the Bruins didn't have much going in the first two periods. The Lightning defended well, displayed good puck management, and were tight in their structure without the puck. They repeatedly intercepted Boston passes through the neutral zone and were able to counter offensively. And the Lightning created a handful of Grade-A scoring chances. They produced multiple odd-man rushes - one of those eventually led to Ondrej Palat's opening goal at 8:59 of the first period. Boston goalie Jaroslav Halak made several key saves on the other odd-man rushes, including early stops on Barclay Goodrow and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning also hit three posts during the opening two periods.
It's true that the Lightning got a good bounce on Victor Hedman's power play goal late in the second period, a point shot that deflected off Par Lindhom and fluttered into the Boston net. But as detailed above, they had more than earned that bounce after the numerous close calls that didn't go in.
The third period had a much different feel. The Lightning got into penalty trouble early in the frame - trouble that started in the final minute of the second. Beginning with that Zach Bogosian penalty late in the second, the Lightning took three penalties over a span of 6:02. The Bruins even had a brief five-on-three, as the first two infractions overlapped.
So in the early minutes of the third, the Bruins used their dynamic power play to apply a lot of pressure. With one second left on the final kill, the Lightning yielded a goal to Jake DeBrusk at 7:04. But over the last 13 minutes, the Lightning did a fairly good job of limiting Boston's scoring looks. As the Bruins aggressively forechecked in an attempt to rally, the Lightning had some wobbly moments with their d-zone puck management. But those occasions were isolated. And after DeBrusk's goal, the Bruins managed only two more shots on goal for the rest of the game. Furthermore, the Lightning enjoyed their fair share of possession time during those final 13 minutes, too, forcing the Bruins to defend in their own end without the puck.
Brayden Point's line had a monster game - and not just because Palat scored two goals. They were dominant in owning puck possession and creating dangerous looks throughout the contest. Vasilevskiy's play was also a key to the victory. He held his ground during Boston's early second period surge and throughout the third period penalty kills.
The Lightning know from their first round triumph over Columbus that the fourth win in a series is often the hardest to get. They expect that they will see the Bruins' best game when the teams meet on Monday for Game Five.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 29 saves.
2. Ondrej Palat - Lightning. Two goals.
3. Victor Hedman - Lightning. Goal.
