Game 3: Tampa Bay v. Boston - Lightning comes up with an unproductive offence (Part 2)
Continuing from the last part - Tampa Bay Lighting’s performance against Boston Bruins in the game portrayed it as a totally different team compared to the team it was in the last few games.
Bruins, on the other hand, clicked at the right time and gelled together well as a single unit to come up with an impressive performance. Bruins displayed the type of performance that Lightning was exhibiting in the past few games, almost flawless.
"I think tonight's game probably resembles a lot more of what I think everybody expected from this series -- two teams that make it hard for you to score", Boston’s coach, Claude Julien, said. "We made some stronger plays, some better decisions and seemed a little bit more aware out there of what was going on".
Tampa Bay’s coach, Guy Boucher, said, "Today was more of a playoff game between two teams who pride themselves on doing well defensively and playing tight. That's why we're here”.
One of the main offensive sources for Lightning is their backline. The defence has been supporting and playing a great role in Lightning’s offence. Majority of the games saw the defence coming up with turn-overs after which the puck was carried forward and then either the forwards, or, the defensemen themselves scored a goal.
Unfortunately, Lightning wasn’t able to replicate their unique game as Bruins was able to figure out their strategy.
Bruins abstained from making any mistakes in the opposing half and would seldom lose the puck. Consequently, there were very few turn-overs and Lightning was unable to score a single goal.
Counter-attack is another source for Lightning to score goals. There were a few counter-attacks but the Bruins’ defence showed dealt with them sensibly. Even when Lightning’s players got past the backline, Thomas came to the rescue.
Therefore, the home team wasn’t able to construct the same plays and couldn’t attack the way they had done in the first two games of the series. Their confidence looked shattered that resulted in their offense suffering and not being able to come near the visitor’s goal.
In the end, Lightning had to face the disappointment of not only losing the game but also falling behind in a crucial Eastern Conference Finals’ series. They were leading 1-0 but lost the next two games and are now trailing Bruins by 2-1.
Lightning’s dry offense and out-of-from defence resulted in Bruins winning the game and now just two wins away from a Stanley Cup Final appearance.
(Continued in part 3). . . . . . . .
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