Full Cup - Bruins romp again at Garden to force Game 7

There will be one more flight west. One more night in a Vancouver hotel. One more game. Had the Bruins dropped Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Canucks last night at TD Garden, tomorrow probably would have been breakup day. For the final time this season, the Bruins would have gathered at their home rink, packed up their items, held exit interviews, and said their goodbyes. Instead, they will be pursuing the greatest trophy in sports in the grandest spectacle of them all: Game 7. “Not too many people

counted on us being here right now,’’ Mark Recchi said after last night’s 5-2 win before 17,565. “It’s a great feeling. We battled real hard tonight. We came to play. It comes down to one game. This is what we dream of. When you’re a little kid playing street hockey, you’re in Game 7. We’re going to go out there. We’re going to lay it on the line just like they are. It’s going to be a pretty exciting game. We’ve got to go find a way to win a game and win a Stanley Cup. We’re going to do whatever we can.’’ The champagne that was on ice for the Canucks last night is only an afterthought. The Cup that was in place for the Canucks to hoist must now travel west to accompany both teams. Last night, only one club could have claimed the Cup as its own. Tomorrow, because the Bruins did something good last night, they can do something great. The day started with focus. The Bruins didn’t think about their season coming to a close. In the home dressing room, there was a quiet confidence as the Bruins tried to bundle their collective energy toward a single goal: living to see another day. “It was very quiet in here,’’ said the usually chirpy Brad Marchand. “It was tough to figure out if it was nerves or just guys being calm and focused. It seemed like everyone was very prepared and very excited to get underway.’’ After warmups, the calm was gone. As the Bruins bosses had hoped, the mood rose another level while the players prepared for battle. The Bruins weren’t afraid of what was ahead of them. Instead, they couldn’t wait to get their job started. So, what was quiet and poise ramped up to energy. “Excitement, that’s for sure,’’ Michael Ryder said. “We were all pumped up. We knew that we had to come out hard, especially early in the game. I think it was pretty intense in here. Everyone was jumping around, getting ready to go. We knew what it meant. We knew the fans would be behind us. We wanted to make sure we set the tone early and got the fans into it.’’ Soon after the Bruins hit the ice, all that buildup, tension, and excitement exploded into a four-goal supernova. Marchand snapped a shot over Roberto Luongo. Milan Lucic hit a shot that dribbled between Luongo’s pads and rolled over the goal line. Nathan Horton, his season over because of a concussion suffered in Game 3, stood in the Zamboni entrance during a television timeout at 7:27. With a smile across his face and rally towels waving in both hands, Horton gave the Garden even more juice. “We didn’t know they were going to be doing that, showing him up there,’’ Marchand said. “For him to come in and give us that boost of energy is unbelievable. Obviously, the crowd loves it, loves him, and they’re supporting him every minute of the day. It was great to see him out there. He gave us a big energy boost.’’ That was nothing. At 8:35, with Recchi setting a screen in front, Andrew Ference ripped a slapper that sailed past Luongo to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead. During the Final, Luongo has had more ups and downs than a yo-yo. He has posted two shutouts at home, allowing just two goals in three games at Rogers Arena. But at the Garden, Luongo fished eight pucks out of his net in Game 3. He was pulled after giving up four goals in Game 4. Last night, after three pucks went past him — one of the dribbling manner — in less than nine minutes, Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault had seen enough. Just moments after Ference’s shot hit the back of the net, Luongo was skating toward the visiting bench for the second time in his last two visits to the Garden. Then, after relief netminder Cory Schneider had been in goal for only 70 seconds, Ryder tipped a Ference shot into the net to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead. “We needed to come out hard tonight,’’ said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “I thought our guys responded. We needed to come out hard the last two games before that, because we were trailing, 2-0, in the series. Our guys have responded well. Now we have to make sure we don’t get comfortable with our game. We’re willing to bring it to Vancouver with us, because that’s what it’s going to take to win.’’ Unlike their two previous stops in Boston, the Canucks pushed back. Henrik Sedin made it 4-1 at 0:22 of the third. Jannik Hansen thought he had trimmed Boston’s lead to two at 3:17 of the third, but video replay showed his shot hit the left post. But Boston’s cushion was too large. And now it’s come down to this. Next win is for the Cup. “There’s no pressure,’’ Recchi said. “Go play. Go out and have fun with this. It’s what you play for and what we’ve worked hard for all year. We’re going to have a blast doing it.’’

Conn Smythe Trophy watch: Leading candidates after Game 2

In some ways, the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks’ most prominent Conn Smythe Trophy candidates probably haven’t changed much since we last took a look in mid-May. Yet with the field of teams down to two and Vancouver’s first two home games in the books, we can take a deeper look at which Canucks and Bruins players have the best chance to win the playoff MVP award. We’ll start with the Canucks since they’re up 2-0 in the series. Vancouver Canucks Frontrunner: Ryan Kesler –

One thing I think many potential voters overlook is the benefits Kesler receives from a matchup standpoint. He often draws easier opportunities to score since the Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara-type defensemen are usually sent at the Sedin twins. Let’s not forget that the Sedins took over the third period of Game 2 and weren’t much less dominant against the San Jose Sharks than Kesler was versus the Nashville Predators. Of course, the converse side of getting better chances to score is that he also often faces much more difficult defensive assignments than the Sedin twins. Kesler does a little of everything from scoring (19 points in 20 games), winning faceoffs (54.6 to Henrik Sedin‘s weak 45.6 percent) and killing penalties (he’s averaging 3:04 minutes of shorthanded per game, first among Vancouver forwards and second overall). He’s the do-everything forward for the Canucks and while many knew he was an impact player already, the 2011 playoffs have been a star-making experience for the American two-way forward. His big goals and assists late in many games make him a no-brainer No. 1 candidate … for now. Strong candidate 1: Roberto Luongo – For all the abuse he took in the first round, he’s been a huge difference maker in the playoffs. Despite a great performance by Tim Thomas in Game 1, Luongo stopped all 36 shots for a 1-0 shutout. He made 28 out of 30 saves to turn Boston away in Game 2 and really hasn’t had many low moments since struggling against the Chicago Blackhawks. Whether it’s skin-tight games against the Predators/Bruins or more wide-open affairs versus the Sharks and Blackhawks, he’s been the better goalie more often than not. Overall, his numbers are fantastic, with 14-6 record, .928 save percentage and 2.16 GAA. Strong candidate(s) 2 and 3: The Sedin twins – Henrik Sedin has a league-leading 21 points and Daniel Sedin has 18 himself. Kesler is the obvious frontrunner right now, but if Henrik or Daniel put together a couple more multiple point explosions like they did at times in the Sharks series, you just never know. Dark horse: Alex Burrows – The noted vegetarian might not be as steady of a threat as the other three forwards, but he’s made some huge plays in the postseason. Obviously, those two big OT goals would be the video clips of note, but he has 17 points in 20 games overall. Boston Bruins Frontrunner: Tim Thomas – The gulf between Thomas and any other Bruins contributor – even Zdeno Chara – seems pretty huge if you ask me. Thomas hasn’t always been pretty (and allowed a few bad goals, most notably that Game 2 OT tally), but the sum of his work has been astounding. If the Bruins get back into this series, it’ll probably take an astounding set of performances by Thomas, which would make his chances that much stronger. It’s been a great run either way, considering that fact that he has a .93 save percentage in the postseason, with a nice 2.27 GAA. Strong candidate: Zdeno Chara – It’s been an up-and-down playoffs at times for the Bruins big defenseman, but he’s done everything for Boston. He plays huge minutes (28:17 per game), shows a willingness to comply with wacky power play experiments and has more better days than bad ones amid a very suspect Bruins defense. Dark horse: David Krejci – The most underrated part of the Bruins’ team is their impressive top line, powered most by Krejci. He has 18 points in 20 games, including 10 goals (four game-winners). If Dan Hamhuis can’t play again, his line could create enough opportunities to turn this series around. An explosive finals round could give Krejci a solid chance to win the Smythe. *** With 2-5 games remaining, there’s still plenty of time for these (and other) players to improve their argument for one of the best trophies in hockey. Who’s your frontrunner so far?

Bruins reach Stanley Cup finals, top Lightning 1-0

Vezina Trophy finalist Tim Thomas stopped every shot and gave the Boston Bruins a chance for the biggest prize of all -- the Stanley Cup. Forget their 20-year absence from the finals. Don't talk about their epic playoff collapse of last season. And certainly don't mention their powerless power play. None of that matters after the Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 on Friday night on Nathan Horton's goal with 7:33 left in the penalty-free Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"I'm just happy to see those guys smiling in the dressing room," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "Right now we're four wins from winning the Stanley Cup." The Bruins will open the Stanley Cup finals in Vancouver against the Western Conference champion Canucks on Wednesday. Boston won its most recent championship in 1972 and hadn't reached the finals since 1990, when it lost to the Edmonton Oilers. The Bruins left far behind the specter of last year's playoff failure. They blew a 3-0 lead in games and a 3-0 lead in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, losing 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers. "From the beginning of the season, we knew we had some unfinished business," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. "Guys were hungry throughout the playoffs." This season, they squandered 3-2 series leads in the first round against Montreal and then against Tampa Bay. But they beat the Canadiens 4-3 in overtime in Game 7, with Horton scoring the winning goal. Then the forward, playing in the postseason for the first time in his career after five seasons with the Florida Panthers, came through again with his eighth playoff goal. "He certainly has played like a big-game player," Julien said. So has Thomas -- all season. The 37-year-old goalie led the NHL in goals-against average and save percentage after missing all of last year's playoffs because of a hip injury. After offseason surgery, he was as good as ever, and that includes the 2008-09 season when he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie. "I think a lot of people thought I was over the hill," Thomas said. "I knew it wasn't true. I put in a lot of work over the summer and I've had an unbelievable year. I've been blessed." He made 24 saves in his third career playoff shutout and second of the Lightning series. Horton's goal spoiled an outstanding game by Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson, who stopped 37 shots. Thomas' playoff performance is even more remarkable because the Bruins scored just five goals on 61 power plays in the postseason. But there were no power plays for either side on Friday night in the clean, hard-hitting game. "There wasn't anything out there to call," Roloson said. "Give the referees credit. for not disrupting the flow of the game." Horton beat Roloson by deflecting a pass from left to right across the slot from David Krejci. "It is hard to explain how good this feeling is," Horton said. His goal set off a loud celebration among Bruins fans, who have waited a long time for a trip to the finals. With 3 seconds left and the puck in the Lightning zone, Bruins center Patrice Bergeron raised his stick while standing in the "spoked B" logo symbolizing the Bruins at center ice. And when the game ended, Thomas raised both arms and arched his back against the net that the Lightning never reached in the decisive game as yellow and black towels given to fans fluttered to the ice. "It's great to be a part of something amazing. That was the highest level of concentration I have experienced," Bergeron said. "I couldn't wait to jump on Timmy and enjoy the moment." The Bruins improved to 2-3 in Game 7s under Julien but have won the last two. They're 11-10 overall in Game 7s. Andrew Ference started the only scoring play on the left side behind the red line with a pass to Krejci, also on the left. Horton was on the same side, but when Krejci got the puck, Horton veered to the right. Krejci skated in and threaded a pass to Horton, who put the puck in the open side between Roloson and the left post. "I don't think he could have stopped that puck and I don't think he could have done better than he did tonight," Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. "It's hard to look at. One little defensive mistake." And the Bruins weren't about to squander this lead. "Once they went up 1-0, they really came back (on defense) with five guys and it was tough to get anything," said Vincent Lecavalier, who had 6 goals and 13 assists in the playoffs. "We got a few shots, but it was tough to get the rebounds." Roloson fell to 7-1 in elimination games during his career, including 4-1 this postseason. Tampa Bay rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Pittsburgh in the first round, with Roloson shutting out the Penguins 1-0 in Game 7 on the road. But after beating the Bruins in Game 6 to force one more contest, the Lightning's comeback fortunes changed. "They have guys that can put the puck in the net and defend," Boucher said. "Obviously, they've got it all." Tampa Bay forward Steven Stamkos was struck in the face by a puck early in the second period and briefly left the game. He was hit on the left side of the head off a hard shot from the right point by Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk and he immediately dropped to the ice. There was some blood on the ice when the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2008 got up and skated quickly to his bench, holding his face. He missed about five minutes of game time, then returned with a full cage face shield in place of the visor he had been wearing. Boston's Milan Lucic had the best scoring opportunity in the first when Krejci fed him for a breakaway. But Lucic shot the puck into Roloson with just under five minutes left. The Bruins also had solid chances late in the second. Roloson made a pad save on Mark Recchi's shot from a few feet away then made another when Recchi shot the rebound with just under 2 1/2 minutes left in the period. "This is a great moment. (It's) been a long time for Boston. How long has it been actually?" Thomas said, "also a long journey for me to get here. Can't be too happy too long, though, unless you are the last man standing." Notes: Tampa Bay's Sean Bergenheim, third in the playoffs with nine goals after scoring just 14 in the regular season, missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury that also kept him out of the last two periods of Game 5. ... The 41-year-old Roloson played in his 50th postseason game. Thomas appeared in his 36th. ... The date of the game, May 27, is the latest the Bruins have played in club history. ... The Lightning have three players remaining from their 2004 championship team -- Martin St. Louis, Lecavalier and Pavel Kubina, who missed the last 10 games with an upper body injury. ... Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling attended the game wearing a Bruins jersey.

Lightning Beats Back Bruins, Bringing Series to a Tie

Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell each scored twice, the resilient goalie Dwayne Roloson weathered a hat trick by Boston’s David Krejci, and the Tampa Bay Lightning stayed alive in the Eastern Conference finals with a 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 6 on Wednesday night. Game 7 is Friday night in Boston. The Bruins are seeking their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 21 years, and the Lightning will try to clinch their

first appearance on hockey’s biggest stage since they won their only N.H.L. championship in 2004.
The Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks await the winner in the finals. St. Louis also assisted on a third-period goal that put the Lightning up 4-2.His second goal — and N.H.L.-leading 10th of the playoffs — restored Tampa Bay’s two-goal lead after Boston pulled within 4-3 on one of two goals Krejci scored to keep the Bruins within striking distance in the closing minutes. Roloson, who didn’t play in Game 5 after being pulled from two of the previous three games because of ineffectiveness, also gave up a pair of first-period goals and finished with 16 saves. Boston’s Tim Thomas gave up another early goal, then struggled after Krejci and Milan Lucic scored to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead through one period. The Lightning took control when St. Louis, Purcell and Steven Stamkos scored power-play goals within a 12-minute span of the second and third periods. Roloson improved to 7-0 in elimination games during his career, including 4-0 this postseason. The Lightning rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Pittsburgh in the first round, with their 41-year-old goalie shutting out the Penguins in Game 7 on the road. Tampa Bay’s coach, Guy Boucher, gave backup goalie Mike Smith his first career playoff start Monday night, saying he felt Roloson — whose midseason acquisition was one of the keys to Tampa Bay emerging as a contender — needed a “breather” after starting the Lightning’s first 15 postseason games. Smith stopped 17 of 19 shots in the Game 5 loss, however, Boucher didn’t hesitate to go back to Roloson with the Lightning facing elimination. “Personally, I don’t like the word desperation. ... To me, it’s just another game,” Roloson said following the Lightning’s skate Wednesday morning. “You have to focus on your job.” Boston’s coach, Claude Julien, said his team would need to play its best game of the series to clinch it.

Marchand, Thomas lift Bruins; Boston one win from Cup Final

BOSTON — Rookie Brad Marchand made his first point of the Eastern Conference finals count, scoring the game-winner at 15:56 of the second period as the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 Monday to move within a win of their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 21 years.

The Bruins, who last won a Stanley Cup in 1972, can clinch a trip to the NHL's best-of-seven NHL championship series by beating the Lightning Wednesday in Tampa.

Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara assisted on the game-winner. On the play, Tampa's Martin St. Louis seemed to have Marchand covered, but the rookie was able to get his stick on the puck as it came through the slot area. Bergeron has at least a point in 10 of his 14 playoff games.

Midway through the third period, Thomas made a memorable diving stick save against Steve Downie to preserve the one-goal lead. He finished with 33 saves.

The Bruins are now 6-0 in these playoffs when they take a lead into the third period. Boston was 30-2-2 when taking a lead into the third period during the regular season.

Puck possession was crucial for the Bruins in Game 5, and their puck possession advantage was aided by their 58% faceoff efficiency.

Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher shook up his lineup by inserting Mike Smth into the Lightning net in place of Dwayne Roloson, who had started every previous Lightning playoff game but had been twice during this series.

Smith, who had never started a playoff game, faced 12 shots in the first 40 minutes and was beaten on two of them.

Lightning winger Simon Gagne converted on a 2-on-1 break-in 69 seconds into the first period to to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.

The game remained that way until Nathan Horton scored one a one-timer against Smith after receiving a perfect centering feed from Milan Lucic at 4:24 of the second period.

When the shot went past Smith, it ended his 85 minutes, 15 seconds of shutout hockey, including his two relief apperances. He played more than two periods Saturday when the Lightning posted a come-from-behind 5-3 win.

Rich Peverley scored an empty-netter with 12.1 seconds left to seal the win.

Bruins’ play was a tight fit

In the first period of Game 3 Thursday night, the two Lightning players the Bruins least wanted to see with a scoring opportunity — Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier — broke out for a two-on-one rush.

At the same time, St. Louis and Lecavalier spotted the one Bruin they didn’t want to stare down during the odd-man chance: Zdeno Chara.

“I noticed those two guys were coming at me,’’ Chara said. “At that time, you try and be in the right position and have your stick in the right place.’’

St. Louis, breaking down the left wing, tried to hit Lecavalier with a dish to set up a one-timer for his centerman. But with a quick flick of his 65-inch Easton, Chara busted up the play to snuff out what would be one of the Lightning’s best scoring chances of the night.

“I’m glad I had the stick where I had it,’’ Chara said. “Those guys are pretty good. If you give them too many of those outnumbered situations, they’re going to make some plays. You’ve got to be careful not to give them too much of those.’’

The early sequence in the Bruins’ 2-0 win was hard to overlook for several reasons. First, it was a textbook read-and-react play by the Norris Trophy candidate. Second, had Chara not made the play, Lecavalier would have launched a Grade-A laser to possibly tie the game at 1.

“[Chara] covers a little bit more area than most guys,’’ Adam McQuaid said with a smile. “He made a great read. Great job. Chances like that can be momentum-changers in games. They can be the difference. It was a great play by him.’’

In hindsight, the rush was most memorable because it was rarer than beef tartare. In Games 1 and 2, when the Lightning ripped up the Bruins for five goals on each night, the Tam pa forwards pulled away for rush after rush.

In Game 3, with the Bruins going on lockdown, the dangerous Lightning attackers had little room to breathe in the offensive zone.

“We all did a good job as a group as far as not giving them outnumbered situations, making sure we didn’t get caught down low,’’ said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “I thought our guys reacted well. By not giving those outnumbered situations, we’re also able to have a real effective forecheck going on. I really like the way our guys were focusing and how they read off each other.’’

Neither Julien nor Tampa Bay counterpart Guy Boucher liked the way their clubs performed defensively in Games 1 and 2. In the Bruins’ 5-2 loss in Game 1, defensive mistakes led to three goals in 85 seconds. A stickless Dennis Seidenberg kicked a rebound to Sean Bergenheim’s blade. A rotten forecheck and soft netminding by Tim Thomas allowed Brett Clark to dangle through three zones and score on a sharp-angle backhander. Seidenberg’s ill-advised decision to regroup and throw a hinge pass to Tomas Kaberle led to a cough-up by the ex-Leaf and an easy tap-in for Teddy Purcell.

Boucher noted that in their 6-5 loss Tuesday, the Lightning racked up more scoring chances in one game than they had all season. All those looks meant squat after Dwayne Roloson was chased following 40 minutes of run-and-gun action.

In Game 3, the Bruins rolled out a near-perfect defensive performance. Thomas stopped all 31 shots, but he gave proper credit to his teammates for limiting Tampa’s sniffs. Leading the charge was Chara, who played his best game of the series. In 28:27 of ice time, Chara squared off mostly against Tampa’s newly formed No. 1 line of Purcell, Lecavalier, and St. Louis. Seidenberg, Chara’s right-hand man, helped neutralize Tampa’s top-line attack.

It was the first time this series that Boucher paired Lecavalier and St. Louis. In the first two games, Steven Stamkos had centered St. Louis and Ryan Malone. By putting Lecavalier and St. Louis together, it made Julien’s job of matching Chara against the pair a little easier.

But that also required Boston’s second defensive pairing of Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk to be thorough against Tampa’s second line of Stamkos between Malone and Simon Gagne. Stamkos had four shots. Malone landed two. Gagne, a Bruins killer as a Flyer last year, was ghost-like in recording just a single shot.

Even Kaberle, one of Game 1’s goats, looked like a defense-first defenseman. Kaberle tightened up in Game 2. He was even better in Game 3, blocking a team-high three shots. Kaberle played only 12:41, of which 3:16 was on the power play. But by simplifying his approach, Kaberle made the most of his even-strength workload.

“I think he’s relaxed a little bit, which has given him some confidence in his game,’’ Julien said. “I think the last two games, he’s been a better player. He’s passing. He’s more poised. He’s a little bit more aggressive. And he’s not sitting on his heels. And I think that’s made a big difference in his game. We say it almost every day when we talk about players: It’s about confidence. That word confidence plays big.’’

It was no small bonus that Patrice Bergeron returned for Game 3 and played his usual two-way game. Bergeron won 18 of 28 faceoffs, leading the charge in the Bruins’ 57 percent success rate on the draw. When you have the puck, you’re on the attack, not on defense. For Game 4 today, the Bruins would like little to change.

Goal of Bruins is to bottle up the Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning resemble the Montreal Canadiens in some ways, but they are definitely a notch above the Bruins’ archrival.

Up front, they are loaded with talent in Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos, and leading scorer Martin St. Louis. When the Eastern Conference finals begin Saturday night at TD Garden, the Bruins must find a way to clamp down on their opponent’s top offensive threats.

“With every skill player, you’ve got to take time and space away and just try to be hard on them, don’t make it easy,’’ said Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.

“Be hard in battles, try to win those puck battles along the boards, because that’s where they create stuff and get their chances from.’’

It actually might help the Bruins to have played the Habs in the opening round because it gave them seven games of experience negotiating the briar patch that was the neutral zone.

“The first round was a really hard challenge,’’ said Seidenberg. “The second round, we seemed to jell a little bit more and just play better hockey. Now, the third round, the anticipation is bigger, obviously, and everybody is getting ready and we’re looking forward to getting the next one started.’’

The biggest lesson they learned was to not force anything.

“You never want to force plays, and we did that the first couple of games, especially against [Montreal],’’ said Seidenberg. “We’ve just got to choose our spots where we want to be aggressive, where we want to go right back at them or when we want to just regroup and come with speed. It’s a mental game.’’

Seidenberg said players such as Lecavalier, who has 12 points in 11 playoff games, need to be respected.

“He’s obviously very skilled, he’s a former 50-goal scorer,’’ said Seidenberg. “He’s very solid on the puck, he’s strong on the puck. He’s a big body and he protects the puck well along the boards and just creates plays off of that.

“I’d definitely say top 10 [in the league]. All those guys are in the upper [tier] of forwards. So it will be another challenge.’’

Seidenberg said St. Louis, who is Tampa Bay’s top scorer with 13 postseason points, poses a different kind of threat.

“His work ethic is unbelievable,’’ said Seidenberg. “He works like crazy. He’s small and has a low center of gravity. He’s really shifty and smart and he sees the ice really well.’’

As for Stamkos, Seidenberg said, if you follow the puck, it usually finds him.

“He knows how to shoot the puck and he knows where to be,’’ said Seidenberg.

Because of the long break, Game 1 might need some time to take shape.

“Both teams are definitely rested,’’ said Seidenberg. “It’s tough to say if it’s going to be a waiting game or if it’s going to be an up-and-down game.

“We’re trying to play our game and we’ll just have to wait and see what they’re going to come with. They’ve stuck with their system and they’re very patient and we just have to play our game against their system.’’

Much has been made of the Lightning’s 1-3-1 neutral zone scheme, but Bruins coach Claude Julien didn’t sound overly concerned.

“I don’t think you want to certainly put your whole game plan around that,’’ said Julien. “The bottom line is, you’ve got to find a way to get through that. And at the same time, what they’re very good at is when they force you to move the pucks in deep, they’ve got a defenseman there who just grabs it and shoots it right back out.

“So it’s about us getting through that and making sure we give ourselves an opportunity to still have the puck in the offensive zone.

“Our game plan is not going to change a lot. There are going to be some small adjustments here and there, but our game plan should be good enough and we should be confident with it that we know it can continue to bring us success.

“As far as their neutral zone [scheme], it’s very similar to Montreal’s and we were able to get through that one.’’

Julien acknowledged that the Lightning have a more potent offense than anything the Bruins have faced so far.

“Every team you play has got some players you have to keep a close eye on,’’ said Julien. “[Claude] Giroux and [Daniel] Briere in the Philly series, the [Mike] Cammalleris and [Brian] Giontas [in Montreal].

“You’ve just got to make sure you know who they are and you’ve got to make sure you know when they’re on the ice and what they’re capable of doing and hopefully they’re thinking the same way about our players.

“We’ve handled other teams pretty well and we’re going to have to handle those guys just as well because we plan on having success.’’

Goaltending, lack of offense part of Flyers' demise

The ending was certainly not what Philadelphia Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren envisioned when his team entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.

Being eliminated in a four-game sweep by the Boston Bruins in the second round? It's unacceptable. Particularly for a team that came within two wins of winning the Cup one year ago.

It wasn't too long ago the Flyers were winning 17 of 24 games in December and January to move atop the Eastern Conference standings. Somewhere along the way and just prior to the postseason, however, they lost something. Call it whatever -- magic, karma, the fight -- but it suddenly expired.

Sure, the Flyers would give their fans something to feel good about after rallying from a 3-2 series deficit against the Buffalo Sabres in the opening round, but then came Round 2 and the Bruins were the better and more desperate team.

"We lost the game because their team outplayed our team," Holmgren told reporters following Game 4.

It seems the biggest concern heading into the off-season is on the defensive side, where a three-headed goalie rotation dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the postseason. The Flyers finished last among the eight survivors in the conference semifinal round with a 3.46 goals-against average, and were 11th in the regular season (2.63 GAA). They were the only team to not post a shutout in 2010-11 despite 93 chances to do so.

Not that a shutout is a prerequisite for Stanley Cup success, but it is rather bizarre that a defense considered to be one of the deeper units in the League failed to notch even one.

Sergei Bobrovsky would give way to Brian Broucher, who gave way to Michael Leighton, who was replaced again by Boucher, who was finally benched in favor of Bobrovsky in the playoff finale on Friday at TD Garden. It was enough to make your head spin.

Bobrovsky finished the regular season second in the League among rookie goalies with 52 appearances and 28 victories, and was fifth in goals-against average (2.59) and save percentage (.915). There were signs of some fatigue at the tail-end of the regular season but his 24-save performance in a 1-0 loss to Ryan Miller and the Sabres in Game 1 of the conference quarterfinals had tempered those seeds of doubt.

Then there was the Game 2 meltdown when he allowed 3 goals on 7 shots in the opening 12:30 of the contest before the goalie carousel commenced -- it was the first of what became seven in-game goalie changes in 11 playoffs games by coach Peter Laviolette. That included Bobrovsky in for an injured Boucher for nine minutes of Game 2 against the Bruins -- a contest Boucher would eventually re-enter and finish.

"It's unusual," said Flyers owner Ed Snider following Game 3 against Boston. "That's all I can say. It's unusual but I don't think it's wrong. I think it's something that had to be done and I think the coach has done a good job deciding what he's going to do and when he's going to do it."

Regardless of whether it was right or wrong, the results weren't pretty -- Boucher finished with a 3.13 GAA and .904 save percentage; Bobrovsky sported a 3.23 GAA and .877 save percentage; Leighton a 3.43 GAA and .862 save percentage.

Bobrovsky was peculiarly demoted to third and even fourth-string goalie for four games following Game 2 against the Sabres before finally dressing as the team's backup in Game 7. He appeared in all four games against the Bruins -- allowing 6 goals on 49 shots -- and looked relatively sharp in relief and his one start in Game 4 (22 saves on 25 shots).

"Goaltending, as I've said before, is a function of your team," Holmgren said. "Was (Bobrovsky) great (in Game 4)? No, but he's a young kid and under intense circumstances. But we didn't lose the game because of our goalie."

Despite the fact Bobrovsky was 0-4-2 while allowing 24 goals in his last 10 appearances of the season, it is likely the Flyers will show patience with him. Boucher (4-4 in the playoffs) tried to replicate what he was able to bring to the team in the opening round, but the Bruins were far more relentless in their effort to crowd the crease and shoot at will.

Did the loss of veteran defenseman Chris Pronger hurt? Absolutely, but players and coaches certainly felt confident that the club would compete and still have a chance against any team standing in the way. That just never materialized against the Bruins.

"It doesn't really matter how much we missed him," defenseman Sean O'Donnell said. "I'm sure they missed (Marc) Savard and I'm sure Pittsburgh missed (Sidney) Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin. Everyone is dealing with injuries right now. We showed during the year that we are a good team when Chris wasn't in the lineup. Everyone would like to have a healthy team but that wasn't the case. We didn't get it done."

Bobrovsky is signed for two more seasons before becoming a restricted free agent in the summer of 2013. Other players about to enter unrestricted free agency are Boucher, defensemen O'Donnell and Nick Boynton, and forwards Nikolay Zherdev and Ville Leino. Those restricted free agents include forwards Andreas Nodl, Darrel Powe, Daniel Carcillo and defenseman Danny Syvret.

Management will no doubt take a hard look at the offense as well. Possessing a group of top-nine forwards that rivals any other in the League, the Flyers scored 2.64 goals-per game in 11 playoff contests despite having six guys with at least 20 goals in the regular season. The team produced 3.30 per game last spring after having only three 20-plus goal scorers in the lineup.

The top prospects within the system include defensemen Erik Gustafsson and Kevin Marshall and forwards Eric Wellwood, Ben Holmstrom and Zac Rinaldo. The organization is also hoping goalie Joacim Eriksson, the Flyers 196th overall choice in the 2008 Entry Draft, can emerge as a top performer. As it stands now, the Flyers own just five picks in the upcoming Entry Draft June 24-25 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. -- none of which are in the opening two rounds.

"Well, I will sit back and we'll spend a lot of time over the next little while evaluating," Holmgren said. "We'll sit down with obviously staff and the coaches and the players and just see what went wrong. My first reaction is that we got beat by a better team in this series. They deserve to be moving on."

Bruins get off to a flying start

By the end of Game 1, a 7-3 affair, the Bruins had exposed the Flyers yesterday as a club that barely had a pulse, let alone one that was ready for the second round of the playoffs.

“Everything’s got to change,’’ said Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette. “Everything’s got to improve.’’

Yet for a brief window in the second period, the Flyers could have jumped back in the game. With the Bruins holding a 3-1 lead, Brad Marchand was penalized for slashing Ville Leino.

The Bruins killed off the penalty, but 39 seconds later, they went a man down once more. This time, Johnny Boychuk was directed to the penalty box for high-sticking Nikolay Zherdev on a backhanded follow-through of a clearing pass.

Once more, the Bruins buckled down and killed the penalty.

“Overall, they did a great job,’’ said Bruins coach Claude Julien, whose charges nullified four of five power plays. “At that time of the game, it’s so important that you kill those.

“You don’t want to let them back into it. Had they scored, it might have been a different game in the third period.

“I liked the job our penalty killers did. Not only did they do a good job in our own end, we controlled the puck pretty well when we had it. Whenever we had the opportunity, those guys made sure they made it all the way down the ice.’’

During the first kill, James van Riemsdyk and Mike Richards had sniffs at the goal. But Tim Thomas kept his net clear, making 14 of his 31 saves in the second period.

Thomas also got help from Zdeno Chara. The captain chased down van Riemsdyk after a stretch pass and got his stick on the winger’s blade to bust up a scoring chance.

Then on the second kill, the Bruins continued to execute their game plan. When Kimmo Timonen wound up from the point and let a slapper rip, Gregory Campbell hit the deck and blocked the defenseman’s shot.

The hockey gods rewarded the Bruins for their consecutive kills. Less than a minute after Boychuk stepped out of the box, the Bruins scored the winning goal.

David Krejci won an offensive-zone faceoff against Blair Betts, pulling the puck back to Adam McQuaid at the right point. Krejci then plowed to the front of the net. As McQuaid floated a puck on goal, Krejci was in the perfect position to tip the wobbler past Brian Boucher at 15:26 of the second, making it 4-1.

“I thought we did a pretty good job on our PK,’’ Patrice Bergeron said. “They have a lot of firepower. We’ve got to find a way to kill it. I thought we were pretty aggressive, and it helped.’’

The Bruins’ penalty-killing efforts, like most components of their game, exhibited attention to detail. Preparation and execution. And a killer instinct.

“Great game,’’ said Nathan Horton. “Great way to start.’’

When the Flyers tried to rally, the Bruins kicked the door shut in their faces. When the Bruins scored one goal, that wasn’t enough. When Boucher was on the ropes and exhibiting mental weakness, the Bruins connected with a final haymaker to put the goalie on the mat.

At 17:14 of the second period, after Marchand tucked in a short-range rebound of Andrew Ference’s point shot, Laviolette had seen enough. As he has already in the playoffs and as so many other Flyers coaches before him, Laviolette turned to his second choice.

Sergei Bobrovsky came in to relieve Boucher, only to allow two more goals in the third period.

As inconsistent as Boucher and Bobrovsky turned out to be, both had little relief from their let-’em-in defense.

Marchand and Krejci potted two goals apiece. Horton, Mark Recchi, and Campbell added point-blank strikes.

“The way we played in front of our goaltender, we as a team deserve all the responsibility,’’ said Laviolette.

Perhaps the most satisfying part of the win was how the Bruins’ No. 1 line floored the Flyers. Krejci, Horton, and Milan Lucic were coming off a nearly flat-line performance against Montreal.

Yes, Horton scored a pair of overtime winners, but for the most part, Hal Gill and P.K. Subban, along with the Canadiens’ first line of Mike Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec, and Andrei Kostitsyn, aimed their crosshairs directly on Krejci & Co.

“I don’t want to talk about it,’’ Krejci said Friday when asked about the opening round, no doubt still haunted by the Canadiens’ smothering ways.

Yesterday, the first line exploded. Of the 11 shots they sent on goal, three went in.

“Montreal really paid a lot of attention to that line,’’ Julien said. “They really had some hard matchups against that line. They certainly did a great job.

“Montreal’s a great defensive team. That’s their strength. They put their best players against that line. They made it tough on them. But luckily we had some depth and other lines that came up big for us.’’

So far, the Flyers are paying for any remaining frustrations the first line might have had.

Blackhawks win to force Game 7

CHICAGO - Ben Smith scored on a rebound at 15 minutes, 30 seconds of overtime and the defending Stanley Cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3, on Sunday night to force a seventh game in the opening-round series.

The Canucks, with the NHL's best record during the regular season, have lost three straight after it appeared they were in control of the series. Game 7 is Tuesday night in Vancouver.

Smith, a rookie, followed in a long, hard shot from the point by teammate Niklas Hjalmarsson that bounced off goalie Roberto Luongo.

Luongo didn't start the game but was called upon in the third period when Cory Schneider had to be helped off the ice when he was injured as he tried to stop Michael Frolik's penalty shot that tied it at 3.

Predators 4, Ducks 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nick Spaling scored his second goal of the game at 4 minutes, 53 seconds of the third period and Nashville closed out its first postseason series victory to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, eliminating Anaheim.

Steve Sullivan scored a goal, David Legwand had an empty-netter and Jordin Tootoo assisted on Spaling's goals. The Predators won the series, four games to two, in their sixth postseason in seven seasons.

Jason Blake scored a power-play goal, and Teemu Selanne also had a goal for the Ducks. Anaheim looked tired early after blowing a lead late before losing Game 5 in overtime. The Ducks also looked tired late as coach Randy Carlyle went heavily with his top two lines trying to rally.

Anaheim lost in the opening round for the third time in seven playoffs.

Bruins need one more

The Boston Bruins are heading to Montreal with a 3-2 lead over the Canadiens in their first-round playoff series.

But the Bruins know better than anyone that the fourth win is the hardest.

Boston led the Flyers, 3-0, in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals, then lost four straight. So the Bruins aren't taking anything for granted.

Game 6 is Tuesday.

Rangers end in whimper

When the New York Rangers look back at this season, two key moments will surely stand out: One will make them smile; the other will cause them to cringe.

The happy memory will be of their regular-season-ending win over the New Jersey Devils that kept them alive in the playoff chase long enough for Tampa Bay to beat Carolina hours later and put them into the postseason as the No. 8 seed.

However, their stay in the playoffs was painfully quick after falling to Washington in five games.

Pacioretty regrets tweet

Injured Montreal Canadien Max Pacioretty has apologized for a comment he made on Twitter making fun of Bruins forward Brad Marchand's nose.

During Saturday night's double-overtime game between Boston and Montreal, Pacioretty posted, "this game is longer than marchands nose." Later, Pacioretty posted an apology, saying, "I was trying to to be funny earlier, and it didn't work. I apologize to marchand and won't try to be funny that way in the future."

Kings win to stay alive

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Jonathan Quick used his pads, glove and just about every other part of his equipment and body to make sure the Los Angeles Kings would stay alive in their playoff series against San Jose.

Quick made a Los Angeles playoff-record 51 saves to lead the Kings to a 3-1 victory over the Sharks in Game 5 on Saturday night.