Lightning beat Bruins in double overtime, advance to Eastern Conference final

TORONTO — Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper could see his team beginning to wilt as Monday’s first overtime session dragged on.

The Lightning had dressed seven defenceman for a fourth straight game, but lost star winger Nikita Kucherov to injury in the second period, leaving the club with just 10 forwards. 

And the Boston Bruins were coming hard facing elimination after tying things late in the third period.

“We needed every ounce of our energy,” Cooper said. “Tongues were dragging … it was tough.”

Tampa somehow found another level in the intermission, and is now off to the Eastern Conference final for the fourth time in six years.

Victor Hedman’s shot at 14:10 of double overtime snuck through a crowd as the Lightning defeated the Bruins 3-2 to win their second-round series 4-1.

“How they managed to play that second overtime, I don’t know,” Cooper said of his team after allowing just one shot against in the second OT. “It was a pretty committed effort by the guys.

“Fortunately for us one went in.”

Anthony Cirelli and Ondrej Palat scored in regulation for the Lightning, while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 45 shots inside an empty Scotiabank Arena. Kevin Shattenkirk and Brayden Point each finished with two assists.

On the winner, Hedman faked and then changed the angle with a toe drag before firing a shot that leaked through Jaroslav Halak for the defenceman’s fifth goal of the post-season.

“A great feeling. We battled really hard,” said Hedman, who added an assist. “Losing Kuch early on in the game is obviously a big blow for our team, but gotta give a lot of credit to our forwards.

“Super proud of the effort they put forth, and (Vasilevskiy) was huge.”

The Lightning were stunned by the Columbus Blue Jackets in a four-game sweep in the first round of last season’s playoffs after winning the Presidents’ Trophy before committing themselves to playing better without the puck. Tampa beat Columbus in five games in the opening round of the playoffs to exorcise those demons, and has now sent the team that had the NHL’s best record when the 2019-20 schedule was paused in March because of COVID-19 packing.

“It’s a great feeling,” Vasilevskiy said. “Especially after last year (when) we kind of screwed it up.

“Great series … we were just a little bit better.”

David Krejci, with a goal and an assist, and David Pastrnak replied for the Bruins, who got 32 saves from Halak.

“Very disappointing finish,” Boston winger Brad Marchand said. “We had a great year … we have a hell of a team and expected better.”

The Lightning will take on the winner of the East’s other semifinal between the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers. The Islanders lead that best-of-seven series 3-1 and can clinch Tuesday night.

Minus No. 1 goalie Tuukka Rask after the Vezina Trophy finalist left the bubble during Boston’s five-game victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in the opening round because of a family emergency, the Bruins never really got going in the restart, but put together their best effort of the summer in what turned out to be their final outing.

“This team is resilient,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We thought we were the better team tonight.

“We wanted to play on.”

Boston, which lost to the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 of last year’s Stanley Cup final, dropped all three games in the round-robin seeding tournament in the resumption of play to fall from the No. 1 slot down to No. 4.

And like their five-game defeat to the Lightning in the second round in 2018, the Bruins won Game 1 before losing four straight.

Halak made a huge pad stop on Palat, who scored the winner in Tampa’s 4-3 OT victory in Game 2, one minute into the second overtime on a broken play as the Lightning started to find their legs.

Boston came out flying to open the first extra period, forcing some big stops from Vasilevskiy. Krejci was then assessed a tripping penalty, but Halak made a couple of nice saves to keep his team alive.

The Lightning, who beat the Blue Jackets twice in overtime in the first round, including one that went five OTs, went with 11 forwards and seven defencemen as blue-liner Ryan McDonagh returned after getting hurt in the opener. But they were down to 10 skaters up front when Kucherov left in the second after taking a high stick from Zdeno Chara in the first.

Cirelli gave Tampa a 2-1 lead with 7:57 left in regulation when he tipped Hedman’s point shot past Halak for his third.

The Bruins pushed facing elimination, and got a bounce with 2:33 remaining when Chara’s shot hit Palat’s stick and went right to Krejci, who buried his fourth into an open net  for his team’s first goal at even strength since Game 2.

Boston actually had a chance to win it when Hedman went off for tripping with 1:56 left, but Tampa held on to force OT.

Earlier in the third, Boston’s Karson Kuhlman raced around Tampa defenceman Luke Schenn, but Vasilevskiy, another Vezina finalist, outwaited the speedy winger to make the stop.

Boston then lost blue-liner Charlie McAvoy when Cedric Paquette drilled him from behind in the boards — a hit that went uncalled and had the Bruins bench steaming. McAvoy stayed down and had to be helped to the locker room, but eventually returned to the action with his team desperate for that equalizer.

Tampa grabbed a 1-0 lead at 4:21 of the second when Palat bagged his fifth goal in the last four games after not scoring in the Lightning’s nine previous post-season contests. Shattenkirk took a shot from the point that Palat deftly redirected over Halak’s glove and off the crossbar.

Boston, which avoided elimination in last season’s first round at Scotiabank Arena in Game 6 against the Toronto Maple Leafs before winning the series and going on that long playoff run, got even when its power play clicked for a fifth straight outing. Krejci faked a shot at the point and slid a pass to Pastrnak, who wired his third past Vasilevskiy from the left circle at 12:38.

“We’re getting used to it,” Cooper said of playing overtime games in the playoffs. “If you want to advance, you have to win these games. It’s all there is to it.

“It was gutsy.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2020.

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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press