The road to victory was a bumpy one for the Lightning. They struggled with puck management, ceded most of the possession time to the Bruins, and dealt with five penalty kills (during regulation). But thanks to a 36-save performance from Andrei Vasilevskiy, they held the Bruins to just two goals. That was good enough to force overtime, and the Lightning eventually prevailed in the shootout. The triumph was a critical one, as it helped them salvage a .500 road trip.
The Lightning scored the only goal of the first period, and it came early in the game. Off the rush, Brandon Hagel set up Erik Cernak at the right circle. Cernak skated closer to the net and blasted a slapshot that squeezed past Linus Ullmark and slid (barely) across the goal line. The Cernak tally, which was his first of the season, came at 3:21 and was the Lightning’s first shot on goal in the game.
Soon after, the Lightning had a glorious chance to extend the lead when Nikita Kucherov got loose on a breakaway. But Ullmark stopped the shot, keeping his team’s deficit at one.
The Bruins started dictating play in the second half of the first period. The Lightning had trouble executing clears from their own end. That fueled the Bruins’ attack. Boston also applied heavy pressure during a late first-period power play. Vasilevskiy stopped 11 shots in the frame, and the Lightning held onto the lead after 20 minutes.
The Lightning carried a power play into the second, and they scored at 1:06. After a goalmouth scramble, the puck came to Kucherov at the right circle, and he zipped it past Ullmark.
The two-goal lead lasted less than a minute, however. Just 58 seconds later, Charlie McAvoy’s right-point shot eluded a screened Vasilevskiy. The Bruins tied the game before the period ended. During a delayed penalty call, James Van Riemsdyk swatted a rebound of a Brad Marchand shot past Vasilevskiy at 16:23.
The Bruins dominated possession in the third period — shot attempts were 26-12. Boston was aided by three additional power-play opporutnities. The Lightning killed all three, however, preserving the tie.
Through 60 minutes, two of the Lightning’s best scoring chances (outside of the goals they scored and Kucherov’s breakaway) came while they were shorthanded. Ullmark stopped a close-range shot from Hagel in the second period, and he denied Nick Paul’s point-blank shot early in the third.
In overtime, the Lightning owned most of the possession until the closing minute. They only managed to post one shot on goal, though. Then, with time winding down, the Bruins created several Grade-A looks. Vasilevskiy made saves on David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle, while Marchand put an in-alone chance off the top of the crossbar. On the Coyle shot, the Lightning were called for one final penalty. The Bruins had just 2.4 seconds left, but they managed to set up McAvoy for a shot — Vasilevskiy stopped it just as overtime ended.
In the shootout, Vasilevskiy did not allow a goal over the three rounds. Brayden Point scored in Round Two for the Lightning.
It may not have been pretty, but the Lightning will bank these two points and head home, where they open a four-game homestand on Thursday against Colorado.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 36 saves.
- David Pastrnak — Bruins. Two assists.
- Charlie McAvoy — Bruins. Goal.
