Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning gear up for tie-breaker on Monday, Game 5 – NHL Playoffs Preview
Making an amazing recovery in Game 4 on Saturday, the Tampa Bay Lightning are especially pumped up, going into Game 5 against the Boston Bruins on Monday as both teams look to take a lead in the National Hockey League (NHL) Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals.
After two extremely thrilling games at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa Bay, California, the Bruins and Lightning will return to Boston for an electrifying Game 5. Tampa Bay are able to make quick and valuable recoveries, while the Bruins can lockdown basically
any team they want, which makes this series all that more exciting.
Boston win either by shutting out the other team or by a winning goal. The Lightning on the other hand, keep on scoring until the opposition begins to cry. In Game 1, Tampa Bay won by a 5-2 difference. Boston won the next two with a 6-5 win in Game 2 and
a 2-0 win in Game 3, but the Lightning countered back in Game 4, 5-3.
"I just think that we came back so many times this year and everybody knows in the third period we just keep coming and keep coming and keep coming," Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said. "We came back by three goals in Florida. We came back by three goals before
that, too, against other teams. And we knew we could do it."
Because of their abilities to make a comeback, the Lightning have avoided confrontation with elimination in Game 5 and have a chance themselves to put Boston on the edge. Home-ice advantage has not been a deciding factor in this series as of yet since both
teams have managed to win despite being at home or away. If the Bruins can play their defensive tactics right for the next two games and throw out the Lightning, then they will finally get a chance at the Stanley Cup which would be their first since the 1990
season, but not everyone would agree on that as the final result.
"We're fine," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "This is what playoff hockey is about. It's a tight series and we understand that we didn't do a very good job from the second period on (Saturday afternoon). You have to think about what you need to do (Monday)
and bounce back. That's all we are thinking about right now. You make corrections, adjustments; you do what you have to do. But, when you are this far into the playoffs you don't let the mental part of the game get to you."
Tampa Bay lost their attacking forward Steve Downie during the second period of Game 4, when he collided with Nathan Horton and is for now, on a day-to-day basis. They are still without key defenseman Pavel Kubina, who has missed the entire series and is
not expected to return anytime soon.
Boston might not be happy with what happened in Game 4, but they are sure not to repeat the same mistakes in Game 5 when they return home to Boston to face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. The match is scheduled to start at 8:00 PM ET.
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