It should have been the Lightning's defense that was vulnerable with Ryan McDonagh out of the lineup for Game 2.
Instead it was the Bruins who made too many defensive mistakes and didn't get enough key saves from goalie Jaroslav Halak in a 4-3 overtime loss that evened the best-of-seven series at a game apiece.
After the Bruins tied the game late in regulation, the Lightning scored 4:40 into overtime when the Bruins failed to clear the zone several times, including a brutal pass to no one from Brandon Carlo, and Halak failed to hold onto a shot that just about landed right in his glove, eventually leading to a loose puck that Ondrej Palat swooped in to bury for the game-winner.
-- ONDREJ PALAT OT WINNER4-3 #GOBOLTS pic.twitter.com/lPj9HBMUkr
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) August 26, 2020The Bruins got outplayed for much of the first period as the Lightning seemed to be a step ahead of them in every battle, but they managed to get to the first intermission tied 1-1 thanks to a pair of fortunate breaks.
The first was a literal break, as Zach Bogosian's stick snapped at the blue line and gave the Bruins an odd-man rush the other way. Nick Ritchie fed Anders Bjork for a shot that went wide, but Ritchie collected the rebound off the end boards and stuffed it through Andrei Vasilevskiy's pads for his first goal of the playoffs.
Nick Ritchie with a true *grinder* goal to put the Bruins on the board first.Don Sweeney is smiling. pic.twitter.com/UXK20SLzfR
— Evan Marinofsky (@emarinofsky) August 25, 2020The second came when Tampa's Brayden Point dogged it while leaving the offensive zone for the bench, resulting in an offsides that negated what would have been a tying goal from Barclay Goodrow.
The Lightning did eventually tie the game with 7:18 left in the first on a play the Bruins really should have been able to stop. Bogosian, who isn't exactly the most gifted offensive player in the world, led a rush into the Bruins zone and managed to turn Torey Krug inside-out, then split Krug and Brandon Carlo down the middle before making a great diving feed to Blake Coleman, who finished with a great diving effort of his own to poke the puck through Halak's five-hole. Despite the defensive breakdown and the great efforts from both Bogosian and Coleman, it still probably should've ended with a save.
-- Blake Coleman1-1 pic.twitter.com/84OQdyhSak
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) August 25, 2020The Bruins had a great chance to retake the lead late in the first when Brad Marchand picked up a turnover in the neutral zone and fed David Pastrnak on a 2-on-1, but Vasilevskiy made a great helmet save as he slid across.
The Bruins found themselves once again chasing play for much of the second, with Tampa registering seven straight shots on goal over an eight-minute stretch at one point. But then they took advantage of a power play, just as they have throughout this postseason.
After Ondrej Palat went to the box for high-sticking Connor Clifton, Pastrnak made a great pass from the top of the left circle to the right doorstep, where Marchand was waiting to redirect it in with his skate.
WHAT A PASS BY PASTA!-- Brad Marchand PP2-1 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/m54NCJlq4p
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) August 26, 2020The lead would last for less than a minute, though, as Brayden Point made a terrific play to spin off three different Bruins along the wall (with some help from an uncalled interference from Pat Maroon) and then set up Kevin Shattenkirk for a shot that deflected in off Nikita Kucherov.
Look at the work here by Brayden Point that led to the Kucherov goal. Wow. #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/fV9ryysi1b
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) August 26, 2020The Lightning took a 3-2 lead midway through the third on another defensive breakdown, and another five-hole goal on Halak. Zdeno Chara and Clifton both got caught flat-footed as Coleman raced in behind them and took a great pass from Victor Hedman to send him in on a breakaway. Clifton caught up enough to just get a piece of Coleman's blade as he shot, but the puck still slid through Halak's five-hole. It's likely the changeup caught Halak off-guard and made the save tougher than it looked, but it's still one you want to see stopped.
While Halak did give up two goals he'd probably like back, he also made a great save on Coleman when the game was 2-2. Still, the Bruins now have a big decision to make regarding who to start in goal for Game 3 Wednesday -- Halak, who isn't used to playing back-to-backs and wasn't great in Game 2, or rookie Dan Vladar, who is fresh, but who has never played in an NHL game.
-- Halak save on Coleman #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/Mt9pEJcgeS
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) August 26, 2020The Bruins once again showed some resiliency and fought back to tie the game with 3:58 to go thanks to a relentless offensive-zone shift from Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk and... Sean Kuraly?
Yes, the Bruins' fourth-line center wound up staying on for a double shift as he just didn't get a chance to change off with his linemates, and it wound up working out just fine for the Bruins, as it was Kuraly and Marchand whose work in front of the net -- along with a nice play from Pastrnak in the high slot -- kept the possession alive, and then Kuraly who made the pass that Marchand buried for the tying goal.
-- Brad Marchand - 2nd tonight3-3 pic.twitter.com/Eg7gydZVNG
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) August 26, 2020The Lightning then showed some resiliency of their own, though, bouncing back to win in overtime.
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