After two wild games in Boston that combined for 18 goals and a split series, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning head south to Florida, as both teams look to gain a pivotal edge in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals. Tonight the clubs meet for Game 3 at the St. Pete Times Forum, with the series tied at a game apiece. A sweep of these next two games by either team would almost certainly guarantee victory in the series, and the right to play for the Stanley Cup.
Bruins Vs. Lightning, Game 3: Patrice Bergeron Returns As Boston Looks To Take Series Lead
In what could be game-changing news for Boston, the Bruins will, in all likelihood, get center Patrice Bergeron back in their lineup tonight. Bergeron was thought by many to be the team's best player throughout the first two rounds of the post-season, until a hit from Claude Giroux gave him a mild concussion. The Bruins had a long layoff between rounds two and three, but Bergeron still missed Games 1 and 2 at TD Garden. Shawn Thornton is expected to come out of the lineup as Bergeron's replacement, Tyler Seguin, was stellar in the first two games.
Despite the win in Game 2, head coach Claude Julien isn’t satisfied with how the team has played in their own end, saying “I think we just gotta get back to playing our game. And the first game I don’t think was bad. Again, we talked about those three quick goals were goals that I felt we just got sloppy, gave them away. It wasn’t necessarily how it was structured. The second game, we were pretty good the first period, and when we took that lead it kind of opened up the play, and when you open up the play, it opened up the play for us as well. And we got more chances.”
Forward Dana Tyrell may return to the lineup for Tampa Bay this evening, as Guy Boucher deemed him "ready to go" this morning. Dwayne Roloson will be in goal for the Lightning after a nightmare five-goal second period from Boston got him pulled for Mike Smith.
That second period was much discussed by Guy Boucher, who feels that his team has won five of the six periods played in this series. "You know, we lost a game in Boston," he said, "If you were to tell us that before going there we would win one of the two, I think anybody would have taken it, but now since that's the last game we've played, it's the weird thing. If you lose the first one, win the second one against Pittsburgh - that's how it was. We lost the first one, won the second one, everything was great coming back home and people say we've got momentum. We lost the two after that."
We’ll be around this evening with updates. Enjoy Raw Charge and Stanley Cup of Chowder for more local coverage. Enjoy the game.
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