Bruins power past Lightning for third straight W
(Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) |
The Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 on Veteran's Day at the Garden for their third straight win. Its their third win in three tries versus Tampa Bay.
Patrice Bergeron, Danile Paille and Jarome Iginla netted the three Bruins goals on the afternoon, with Iginla burying the empty netter to seal the W.
A first period that didn't see much action kept the game scoreless going into the second, where plenty happened for both teams.
Bergeron scored his 6th of the year and broke the deadlock at 17:09 of the second, with a lot of help from Brad Marchand. Although Marchand didn't show up on the scoresheet, he was responsible for bringing the puck into the zone. He flipped the puck to the trailing Torey Krug who shot it on net. It got lost in the mass of sticks and legs, where Bergeron eventually got it past Lightning goalie Anders Lindback.
Danny Paille netted his 2nd of the year just 20 seconds later as a result of some vintage fourth-line play from the Merlot Line. Playing out of their own zone, Greg Campbell worked the puck free out of the corner up to Paille, who blew past Keith Aulie straight on net. Shawn Thornton skated wide, drawing Eric Brewer away just long enough, allowing Paille to cut back across and score with the backhand.
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola) |
*Multiple reports have now said that Stamkos suffered a broken tibia on the play*
Tuukka Rask recorded his second shutout of the year (both of which have come against the Lightning) on 28 shots. His dominance of the Lightning this year cannot be understated, as he is now 3-0-0 with a GAA of .33 and a save percentage of .988. Rask is on quite the tear in the last week since the B's lost to the Islanders last Saturday, giving up five goals total in four games.
The Bruins have turned in three straight quality games, turning around their previous stretch of a few weeks where they were stuttering. Its what good teams do: they play out of their ruts and fix their problems without letting them fester for too long. Its a good sign as they are playing themselves back into their trademark style.
- The Bruins have outscored the Lightning 11-1 on the season series. Keep in mind that Tampa only has five losses on the season, and three of them are at the hands of the Bruins. The Lightning must really wish they do not see the Bruins come April and May.
- The W catapults the Bruins back into second place in the Atlantic, just one point behind of said Lightning. After falling as low as fourth, the team is now back towards the top of the pile.
- The B's have a back-to-back coming up on Thursday and Friday, home versus the Bluejackets and Friday in Ottawa.