Jaroslav Halak's big second period lifts Bruins to Game 1 win over Lightning

With the Bruins up 2-0 in the second period of Sunday night's Game 1, the Lightning turned up the intensity and put the Bruins on their heels as they tried to find the goal that might spark a comeback.

Jaroslav Halak had other ideas. After Keith Jones said on the NBC pregame show that the Lightning had a "huge advantage" in net, it wound up being Halak who was the No. 1 star and deciding factor in a 3-2 win that gave the Bruins a 1-0 series lead.

The Lightning wound up throwing 18 shots on goal in the second period alone, only to be denied by Halak time and again. Nikita Kucherov couldn't beat him on a delayed penalty. Neither could the ensuing Tampa power play.

Brayden Point raced in off a turnover, but Halak got his right arm on his shot. He made a similar save less than a minute later on Erik Cernak, then turned away Kucherov's rebound bid as well.

HALAK! #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/9b1gJUe40O

Pat Maroon had two good chances, one on the rush and one on a jam attempt at the doorstep. Halak saved both of those. A Tyler Johnson redirect, a Victor Hedman shot on the power play, a golden opportunity for Barclay Goodrow on the doorstep -- all stopped by Halak.

What a HUGE stop by Jaroslav Halak pic.twitter.com/z3D2KCtiOB

That Lightning just couldn't get their comeback started, and couldn't pull within a goal until very late in the third period.

The first Bruins goal came with 1:08 left in the first when Brad Marchand made a nice play to hold up play after an offensive zone entry to allow the Bruins to complete a line change. He then dished to Brandon Carlo, who wristed a shot toward the net that Charlie Coyle beautifully redirected in.

-- Charlie Coyle1-0 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/nm0wg7ZV4F

The Bruins' lethal top power-play unit made it 2-0 4:34 into the second. David Krejci and Torey Krug patiently directed the man advantage, rotating around the zone and poking and prodding until the right passing or shooting lane revealed itself. It finally did with half a minute to go, and Krejci made a perfect pass through the slot that David Pastrnak one-timed home.

-- David Pastrnak PP2-0 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/XTjF3YDyAq

The apparent dagger came early in the third. As Ryan McDonagh tried to start a Tampa breakout, Patrice Bergeron picked his pocked and left the puck for Pastrnak, who quickly dished to Marchand for the finish.

-- Brad Marchand3-0 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/prHsciDKQw

The Lightning finally got on the board with 11:10 left in the game when Hedman took a shot from the point that deflected off Charlie McAvoy's stick and past Halak. They would keep the pressure on, with Halak making several more big saves, and eventually cut the lead to one with 1:14 to go on another Hedman shot that went either off or through McAvoy and in.

Had the Lightning been able to break through earlier, especially during their second-period onslaught, the game may have ended with a different result. Halak ultimately finished with 35 saves.

"I mean, he was dominant that (second) period," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "The other two goals, I think one went in off Charlie, the other one had eyes, so they certainly got a couple of fortunate ones. But boy did he make some saves in the second where they probably deserved better. ... I thought both goalies did their job. We just happened to be one save better."

It wasn't always the prettiest game for the Bruins, but some big plays from your top players combined with a bunch of good saves from your goalie is a pretty good formula for success. The Bruins got that Sunday night and Tampa didn't until it was too late, and now Boston has the early series lead.

Game 2 is Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET.

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