Tampa Bay Lightning edges past Boston Bruins in Game 6 by 5-4, forcing Game 7 –NHL Playoffs Update
Tampa Bay Lightning made a comeback in the series and won Game 6, 5-4, forcing a decisive Game 7 against Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League (NHL) Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa Bay, Florida on Wednesday,
May 25th.
Lightning’s star trio came out of hiding and lightened the match, scoring three goals and a total of eight points amongst them. Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier, all stepped up to edge past Bruins by one goal, avoiding elimination
to get a second chance to stay in contention for the Stanley Cup Finals.
Teddy Purcell was the first to put Tampa Bay ahead in the first period, scoring the opening goal just 36 seconds in the game.
Lecavalier won the first faceoff of the period and found Purcell open for Lightning’s first shot which found the back of the net, giving Lightning a 1-0 lead.
Boston countered back in the remaining minutes of the period as Milan Lucic and David Krejci scored consecutive goals ending the period with a 2-1 advantage for Bruins.
The second period witnessed Tampa Bay all over the arena and the energized home crowd was on its feet and chanting for its team’s survival.
Martin St. Louis potted his ninth of the postseason during Bruins first power-play of the match as Dennis Seidenberg was sent out for cross-checking Adam Hall.
Teddy Purcell scored his second goal of the game with less than seven minutes remaining for the tie-breaker and finalised the second period in Lightning’s favour at 3-2.
Steven Stamkos, the NHL’s leading scorer during the regular season, may not have been in the spotlight during the playoffs but he made a vital contribution as he extended the team’s lead to 4-2 in the first 34 seconds of the final period.
Entering the final 20 minutes of the game, Stamkos took advantage of an extra man as Andrew Ference’s penalty during the final minute of the second period carried over into the next period.
David Krejci brought the score within a goal’s reach as he scored his second of the night, capitalising on Bruins’ fifth power play opportunity.
Martin St. Louis struck 29 seconds later to score the winning goal and put the game out of reach for Boston. Even though Krejci scored a hat-trick with a little less than seven minutes remaining for his 10th of the postseason, it was not enough
for Bruins.
"We knew it was going to be a long series", St. Louis said. "It comes down to one game. Luckily, and fortunately, all our team has been through a Game 7. Some of us have played more (than one), but everyone has had that experience. We know what to expect.
The fourth win is always the toughest one to get, and both teams are going to battle hard to get it".
Tampa Bay’s coach, Guy Boucher, made a decision in Game 4 not to play his first-choice goalie, Dwayne Roloson, for two games, allowing him to rest. It certainly paid off as he returned fresh Game 6 and saved 16 of 20 shots fired at his goal while Tim Thomas
fell short on five and managed to deflect only 21.
The highly anticipated Game 7 between the two teams is scheduled to be played on Friday, May 27th, at the Bruins’ home arena, the TD Garden in Boston.
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