Sunday, May 6, 2018

Atlantic Division Finals: 1) Tampa Bay Lightning VS. 2) Boston Bruins

The second round of the playoffs are upon us, with only one non-favored seed from the first round advancing. Each post will contain an entire series.

Game 1: Amalie Arena, St. Petersburg, Florida. In goal: Tuukka Rask for the Bruins and Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning. Boston began in the first period with a Rick Nash power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins added on in the second period with a Bergeron goal, his second of the playoffs, made possible by Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. Tampa Bay got on the board with a Dan Girardi goal, passed from Cedric Paquette and Victor Hedman. Boston replied with a Nash goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, with helpers from David Krejci and Pastrnak, the latter earning a sock trick. The Lightning got one back on a Mikhail Sergachev power play goal, his second of the playoffs, with assists provided by Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde. The Bruins shot back in the third period with a Marchand goal, his fourth of the postseason, helped along by Charlie McAvoy. Boston extended the lead as Bergeron scored his second of the game and third of the playoffs, thanks to Marchand and Pastrnak. The Bruins iced it at 6-2 with a Jake DeBrusk empty net goal, his sixth of the postseason, set up by Marchand and McAvoy. The three stars went to Marchand, Pastrnak, and Bergeron, while Nash and McAvoy get the honorable mentions. The Bruins have a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: Amalie Arena, St. Petersburg, Florida. In goal: Tuukka Rask for the Bruins and Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning. Tampa Bay led off in the first period with a Yanni Gourde power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Brayden Point and Mikhail Sergachev. Boston tied it on a Charlie McAvoy goal, assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. The Lightning took the lead back with a Tyler Johnson goal in the second period, his third of the playoffs, via Point and Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay added on with a Palat goal in the third period, his second of the postseason, coming off of Point. The Bruins got one back with a Torey Krug goal, his third of the playoffs, passed from David Pastrnak and Marchand. The Lightning iced it at 4-2 with a Point empty net goal, his second of the postseason, set up by Victor Hedman. The three stars were Point, Palat, and Marchand. The series heads north tied at 1.

Game 3: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts. In goal: Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning and Tuukka Rask for the Bruins. Tampa Bay started in the first period with an Ondrej Palat goal, his third of the postseason, made possible by Tyler Johnson and Anton Stralman. The Lightning added on with another Palat goal, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, via Victor Hedman and Dan Girardi. Boston got on the board with a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by David Pastrnak and Rick Nash. Tampa Bay replied with an Anthony Cirelli goal, courtesy of Yanni Gourde and Ryan McDonagh. The Lightning iced it at 4-1 with a Steven Stamkos power play empty net goal, his second of the playoffs, set up by J.T. Miller and Hedman. The three stars were Palat, Vasilevskiy (28 for 29 in saves), and Hedman. The Lightning have a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts. In goal: Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning and Tuukka Rask for the Bruins. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Brayden Point goal, his third of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Lightning added on with a Nikita Kucherov power play goal, his sixth of the playoffs, powered by Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos. Boston got on the board with a David Pastrnak power play goal, his sixth of the postseason, with assists provided by Torey Krug and Brad Marchand. The Bruins tied it in the second period with a Patrice Bergeron power play goal, his fifth of the playoffs, with a lone helper from Krug. Boston took the lead in the third period with a shorthanded goal by Bergeron, his second of the game and sixth of the postseason, set up by Marchand. Tampa Bay tied it on a Stamkos goal, his third of the playoffs, fueled by J.T. Miller. The Lightning won 4-3 in overtime with a Dan Girardi goal, his second of the postseason, passed from Alex Killorn and Yanni Gourde. The three stars went to Stamkos, Bergeron, and Krug, while Marchand gets an honorable mention. The Lightning return home on the brink of advancing with a 3-1 series lead currently.

Game 5: Amalie Arena, St. Petersburg, Florida. In goal: Tuukka Rask for the Bruins and Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Lightning. Boston struck first in the first period with a David Krejci goal, his third of the postseason, coming on the power play from Charlie McAvoy and Patrice Bergeron. Tampa Bay tied it in the second period with an unassisted Brayden Point goal, his fourth of the playoffs. The Lightning took the lead with a J.T. Miller power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Tampa Bay iced it at 3-1 with an Anton Stralman empty net goal in the third period, set up by Victor Hedman. The three stars were Vasilevskiy (27 for 28 in saves), Miller, and Point. The Lightning advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 4-1 series win.

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