#lightning lb

[vezinas]

battle of the floridians 🗣️

[marcandreyuri]

11/02/2024 pre-game vs vgk

[tojisun]

vasilevskiy tonight

[himbeaux-on-ice]

what category of omen is this

[cruentaquevivere]

I hate everything. Effing Maple Leafs won after hurting Pointer. Eff the world. Burn it down.

[annieqattheperipheral]

perplexed by this wonky espn camera work. If you're gonna track the puck like that-- zoom in!! pls let's send the alberta camera ppl down there to train em, they do it perfectly.

Also the directing.. cutting to a close-up of vasy's post-block reaction face WHILE THE PUCK IS STILL IN PLAY in the other zone, it wasn't whistled down!!

my goodness espn/tnt/whatever the hell you are pls learn hockey im begging 😭

[howdthebruinsdo]

Boston Bruins defeat Tampa Bay Lightning in electric 7-3 victory

Saturday evening, the Bruins hosted the Lightning for their second matchup of the season. This game followed Thursday’s loss to the Penguins, where five goals was not enough to win against Pittsburgh’s offense, led by Sidney Crosby, but indicated the hunger from Boston’s offense that continued into their game against Tampa. Trent Frederic led the Bruins offensively with two of the seven Boston goals against the Lightning, having scored five goals total in his last four games. 

The first period opened similarly to the last game, with a puck finding the back of the Boston goal within the first minute. This one was from Tampa centerman Point after winger Kucherov collected the puck on a failed pass between Bruins players Geekie and Lindholm. Boston is lucky for a power play opportunity just two minutes later when Tampa defenseman de Haan pulls Pastrnak to the ground as he falls and is called for holding. It is just as this penalty is expiring that Shattenkirk connects a pass from the blue line to Frederic posted just in front of the goalie, who quickly puts it past Vasilevskiy, tying the game 1-1. The Bruins would have another power play when Hagel goes to the box, but the Bruins are unable to capitalize, despite their sustained puck control. Tampa had their chance next when Geekie was called for a hooking penalty about halfway through the period. Despite the Lightning being tied for first in power play goals, they were unable to score on Geekie’s penalty, and even let up a 2-on-1 rush from the shorthanded Bruins. With about five minutes left in the period, the puck would clear the Tampa goal line one more time when McAvoy shot the puck through traffic in front of the net and was able to bounce the puck off the stick of Brayden Point before it rebounded into his own net, allowing Boston to go up 2-1 by the end of the first period. 

The second period did not get as quick of a start as the first, but within the first two minutes saw a number of things happen. Matt Poitras, just back on the Bruins roster, took a slightly late hit and was on the ice for a bit as Frederic scored his second goal of the night, putting in his own rebound back off the goalie and into the net. It appears that head coach Jon Cooper heard a whistle blowing the play dead to check on the injured Poitras, though the whistle blew shortly after the puck crossed the goal line. Cooper had a strong reaction and drew a bench minor for his behavior. This penalty was served by Eyssimont, and passed without any change in the score, leaving the game at 3-1 in favor of the Bruins. The next penalty was drawn by Lightning defenseman Myers after holding Lauko, though the Bruins had little time to capitalize before Geekie was sent BACK to the box for interference, giving both teams about 90 seconds of 4-on-4 play. The extra space seemed to favor both teams, taking turns scoring on each other and jumping the score to 4-2. The Lightning goal was from Kucherov, who recovered the puck when DeBrusk lost track in the Bruins’ zone and scored unassisted. The Bruins goal followed thirty seconds later as Pastrnak had a breakaway opportunity, outskating centerman Motte for the goal. Still looking to tie the game up, Brayden Point would score another goal before the end of the period, as Kucherov created an excellent opportunity for him by outskating Lindholm. The score after the second was 4-3 in favor of the Bruins. 

The third period started similarly to the second, with a Boston goal within the first two minutes. The scoring opportunity started in the Bruins’ defensive zone when the puck was recovered by Lindholm, passed up to Pastrnak, who entered the zone quickly, leaving Geekie a clear shot, which he took quickly, beating Vasilevskiy. This goal helped redeem Geekie’s earlier blunders that led to the first two Tampa Bay goals. The Lightning was given another opportunity on the man advantage when Grzelcyk was sent to the box for hooking. The Bruins put up a strong PK despite two Bruins losing or breaking their sticks during the course of play, which is the result of Ullmark knowing when to stop the play and allow a reset. After Boston’s strong penalty kill, the Lightning added extra reinforcements to their next power play opportunity (slashing from Boqvist) by pulling the goalie with almost five minutes left to play. Despite their 6-on-4 advantage, a tragic stick break from Lightning defenseman Hedman at the blue line gave DeBrusk the opportunity he needed to steal the puck and slide it into the open net, also atoning for his part in the Kucherov goal. This put the Bruins comfortably ahead 6-3, but they were not done quite yet, as Coyle had a garbage-time breakaway opportunity just as Boqvist’s penalty expired, ending the game with an impressive final score of 7-3. 

This win is exactly what the Bruins needed right before a four-game road trip in the West. It also saw a shuffling of the lineup, with some expected changes and others that were a bit surprising. Center Matt Poitras, back from playing for team Canada in the Hockey World Juniors tournament, was a happy homecoming, and unsurprisingly, young center Merkulov was not in the lineup, likely sent back to Providence. Beecher was also out of the lineup, swapping back with Lauko. Unexpectedly in the lineup was Jesper Boqvist, taking the place of winger James van Riemsdyk, who is out with an undisclosed injury. The Bruins defense also had a minor change, as Lohrei’s usual spot (in Forbert’s absence) was replaced with Wotherspoon instead, seemingly a rest day for the young defenseman who isn’t conditioned for an 82 game season. Overall, these changes demonstrate the Bruins’ bench depth and promise for later in the season for rest-day rotations to keep our players fresh and energized. 

The Bruins play next at 9PM EST Monday night against the Colorado Avalanche. 

BRUINS LINES (1/6/24)

Zacha - Geekie - Pastrnak Marchand - Coyle - DeBrusk Heinen - Poitras - Frederic Lauko - Boqvist - Steen

Grzelcyk - McAvoy Lindholm - Carlo Wotherspoon - Shattenkirk

[pierrelucdisaster]

Oh, i love the pretend goalie interference on that Eyssimont goal.

[claraxbarton]

Please tell me someone saw that TB Lighting dude FALL face first from the bench onto the ice?!?!?

[magickcandie]

I’m so not caught up. When the fuck did Corey Perry get trained to Chicago?

[morgansyorkie]

Phil is still looking so damn good 🍀 // x

[bagelsunshinecoffee]

Gloves off, fan yelling at jeannot in the box, blood on the ref’s shirt…what more could you ask for?

[cawnecny]

Reasons why shootouts should not exist in the NHL:

Twice in one night, the winning team was outshot by ~200%. What are we doing

[easypeasylindyvesey]

keeping up with this game through the app is pure cinema

[poke-checked]

What is happening in the House of Commons