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.

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.’’

Post-game reactions from Tampa Bay’s Game 1 win vs. Washington

The Tampa Bay Lightning earned a 4-2 win against the Washington Capitals in Game 1 thanks to some timely scoring, a gradually restrictive defense and a nice helping of hard work. This series is far from over, but winning Game 1 on the road puts a lot of pressure on a higher seed.

This point is not lost on Lightning coach Guy Boucher, who continues to stoke his own team’s fires by singing his opponents’ praises. Sure, he said that the Capitals would basically be failures if they lost this series, but he called Washington “a more powerful team” after tonight’s win. In many ways, these comments could serve as reverse bulletin board material as Boucher tries to emphasize Tampa Bay’s underdog status.

(His job isn’t necessarily easy considering the also-impressive star power on his own bench.)

Want a sense of the fallout from this first game? The first video includes some highlights plus a recap of the game from Dave Strader and Ed Olczyk. The second features a post-game interview with Steven Stamkos, who scored the game-winner late in the second period. We’ll also keep you up to date as Sunday’s Game 2 (7 pm. ET on Versus) as it approaches.