Lightning Vs. Bruins, Game 5: Boston Wins 3-1, Takes Series Lead

Despite being an seven-year NHL veteran and having played in every one of the Bruins’ 16 playoff games this season, Nathan Horton is still a playoff newcomer.

His effort, or lack thereof, in the first period of Monday night’s 3-1 win over Tampa Bay made that very evident. Horton took two penalties bridging the first and second period -- one for interference and another for slashing -- in succession, putting the ever-dangerous Lightning power play to work, albeit without any success.

He talked after Game 5 about giving Smith the chance to contribute and that he’d earned it, and while you could easily say that Smith earned another crack, you have to imagine Boucher will be going back to his veteran. After all, in the playoffs it’s never truly about just giving a guy a chance. That’s February stuff. You need to win games this time of year, and that’s where the motivation for every move comes from.

For starters, there’s the much overhyped fact that Roloson has never lost an elimination game in his career. He’ll now have two in front of him if the Lightning want to advance to the Cup Finals, and while Smith looked good in Game 5, Roloson has all the experience in the world.

The win gives Boston a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series and the team will have its first chance at moving to the Stanley Cup Finals in Game 6 on Wednesday in Tampa.

Read more on the Eastern Conference Final at our Lightning vs. Bruins series hub. Get local coverage on the Bruins at SB Nation Boston and Stanley Cup of Chowder. Get local coverage on the Lightning at Raw Charge and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

A poor first period had the Boston Bruins down, but not out. They recovered from a 1-0 deficit after the first period and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, to take a 3-2 series lead.

Simon Gagne got the first goal of the game at 1:09 of the first period, which is notable because it was the same time at which Patrice Bergeron got his first of two goals in the first period of Game 4 in Tampa Bay. He got a pass from Steven Stamkos and deposited on Tim Thomas to give Tampa a 1-0 lead. It was Gagne’s second in two games and third of the series, on the heels of getting the winner against Boston on Saturday afternoon. Gagne is continuously building a reputation as a killer of the killer B’s.

According to reports from various sources, including Naoko Funayama of NESN, Mike Smith led the Tampa Bay Lightning out in warm-ups for tonight’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Boston Bruins, which is tied at two games apiece. This indicates that Smith may very well be the starting goaltender for Tampa tonight, replacing starter Dwayne Roloson. Smith has been called in relief to replace Roloson twice in this series, and has not given up a goal. It could just be mind games, however.

Meanwhile, Steve Downie is on the ice for Tampa Bay after taking a hit to the head in Game 4. His status is still up in the air, but being on the ice is a good sign. The Bruins have dressed 23 skaters in warm-ups and will need to make three scratches, one of whom may or may not be Shawn Thornton.