Lightning Guaranteed Top Two Finish In Round Robin
Brayden Point, Alex Killorn, and Tyler Johnson each scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25-of-27 shots as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2. With the win the Lightning are guaranteed to be a top-two seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bolts can clinch the number one seed with a victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
Charlie McAvoy and Chris Wagner each scored for the Bruins and Tuukka Rask stopped 32-of-35 shots. The loss drops the Bruins to 0-2-0 in the round robin tournament and they can finish no higher than 3rd in the Eastern Conference. Boston will take on the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Point Gets Bolts Out To Early Lead:
Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point came down ice on a 3-1 break. Tuukka Rask was able to get in front of Nikita Kucherov’s shot but Brayden Point was there to jam the rebound home and give the Lightning an early 1-0 lead at 7:33 of the first period.
With the goal Brayden Point has registered points in three-straight playoff games dating back to last postseason.
Killorn Quickly Extends Lightning’s Lead:
Three minutes later Alex Killorn scored a power play goal by deflecting in Victor Hedman‘s shot to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead. The goal came on the Lightning’s second power play opportunity, they had none in the first round robin game against the Washington Capitals.
Boston Battles Back To Tie Game:
Boston cut the Lightning lead in half at the 16:43 mark of the second period when Charlie McAvoy scored on a blistering shot from the blue line.
The Bruins scored the equalizer at the 1:47 mark of the third period when Chris Wagner tapped in Zdeno Chara‘s shot that trickled through the legs of Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Vasilevskiy Needs To Clean Things Up:
It’s the fourth time in two games that a puck has leaked through Vasilevskiy’s legs, a possible alarming trend. It was the second puck to leak through him on the night but he was bailed out on that one by Ryan McDonaugh who cleared the puck just before it crossed the line.
Johnson Notches Game Winner:
With 1:27 remaining in the game Tyler Johnson scored when Tuuka Rask couldn’t corral Yanni Gourde‘s shot.
