Lightning Vs. Bruins, Game 7: Teams Battle Through Scoreless Second Period

After only two scoreless periods through the first six games of this entire series, we have seen two consecutive scoreless periods in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. Boston looks to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1990, while Tampa Bay looks to book their first trip to the Final since 2004. The teams remain even at 0-0 in a riveting, bruising Game 7 after 40 minutes. It’s the seventh time in NHL history that a Game 7 has gone 0-0 through two periods.

The highlight of the period was likely Steven Stamkos taking a shot to the nose from Johnny Boychuk. A lot of the shot got Stamkos’ visor, causing some to hypothesize that Stamkos may have been in much worse shape had he not been wearing one. The young Lightning star missed exactly one shift, and returned to the bench, with both a cage and one of the more exquisite scars we’ve seen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yet another reminder that hockey players are tougher than almost any other human beings in sports.

The shots and offensive play in the period were once again dominated by Boston. The Bruins out-shot the Lightning by a count of 14-8 in the middle frame, and are now leading the statistic 29-17 through two periods. The biggest save of the period came from Dwayne Roloson once again, as he stoned Mark Recchi point blank on a fantastic chance, and then got him again from an equally opportunistic angle. There were no penalties for the second straight period. The Prince of Wales Trophy hangs in the balance in period three.