@jayRecher
It was only a five-game series, but it sure wasn't easy.
The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Sunday afternoon in a hotly-contested game to win the series 4-1 and advance to the Eastern Conference Final.
Brayden Point and JT Miller score in the 2nd period for the Lightning, and Anton Stralman added an empty-netter late to seal the deal.
The two teams played a pretty even first period, but the Boston power play gave the visitors the advantage late.
Following penalties to Dan Girardi and Cedric Paquette, the Bruins had a 5-on-3 for almost a full minute. The Bolts did a great job holding the fort until Girardi came out of the box, but just seconds later, David Krejci fired one high over the shoulder of Andrei Vasilevskiy to give Boston a 1-0 lead.
Tampa Bay had some good chances through the first ten minutes of the second, but neither team had anything to show for it until Point wowed the crowd once again.
With the puck loose in the slot, Point swooped in, made a quick move to the backhand, and slid it under Tuukka Rask to tie the score at one.
The score stayed that way for about three minutes and then it was Boston's turn to play with fire.
The Bruins top faceoff guy and best penalty killer Patrice Bergeron was whistled for tripping Ondrej Palat and that's when the Lightning went to work. Miller and Nikita Kucherov played a game of give-and-go and Miller snapped one quickly past Rask to give the Bolts a 2-1 lead.
Boston threatened to tie the game a couple of times in the third period, especially after a Ryan McDonagh tripping penalty late, but Vasilevskiy stood tall and didn't let the Bruins score again.
The Lightning netminder stopped 27 of 28 shots he saw, while Rask made 19 saves on shots.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
1. Boston - PPG - Krejci - (McAvoy, Bergeron) - 19:12
2nd Period
1. Tampa Bay - Point - (Unassisted) - 10:43
2. Tampa Bay - PPG - Miller - (Kucherov, Stamkos) - 14:00
3rd Period
1. Tampa Bay - Stralman - (Hedman) - 18:33
PENALTY SUMMARY
1st Period
1. Boston - McAvoy - (Cross Checking) - 7:09
2. Boston - Backes - (Interference) - 12:52
3. Boston - Marchand - (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) - 12:04
4. Tampa Bay - Hedman - (Holding) - 12:04
5. Tampa Bay - Girardi - (Interference) - 17:02
6. Tampa Bay - Paquette - (Tripping) - 18:06
2nd Period
1. Boston - Bergeron - (Tripping) - 13:31
3rd Period
1. Tampa Bay - McDonagh - (Tripping) - 15:42
What's Next For The Bolts : The Lightning now sit and wait for the conclusion of the Penguins/Capitals series to see who they will play in the Eastern Conference Final.