Stadium Series: Bruins-Bolts

The Boston Bruins have been pretty good at this outdoor game thing, their only notable flop coming 10 years ago in the Winter Classic held at Gillette Stadium.

Neither the Bruins nor the Montreal Canadiens made the playoffs that year, but the Winter Classic cost the Bruins a playoff spot, something we may look back at this season and say it made the difference one way or the other.

In 2016, the Canadiens slogged through a dreadful season but were uplifted by the return of injured right winger Brendan Gallagher, who was their Brad Marchand, the player who dragged his team into the fight. Conversely, Marchand was unavailable to the Bruins thanks to a NHL suspension (I don’t recall but wonder if it was for taking out the legs of Detroit stalwart Niklas Kronwall). Worse, the Bruins were suddenly without centerman David Krejci due to injury. All the good vibes were on Montreal’s side, and the Habs rolled to their top highlight win of an otherwise dismal season.

The Bruins are in a far better place from a morale standpoint, but they are once again playing in a football stadium without two key forward who regularly skate on the top two forward lines: Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha, both of whom stayed home.

Imagine this early in Fraser Minten’s career, his presence in this lineup is the only reasonable hope the Bruins have of winning this game. Without the 21-year-old (who will be centering Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt and contributing to both the powerplay and penalty kill) centerman, the Bruins would have no viable matchup answer for this hockey game.

As it is, they will hard pressed. Marat Khusnutdinov, who will center David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, has skill and carpe diem, but the line will be challenged if pressed in the defensive zone. No doubt, Jon Cooper will aim to (with the home-ice last change) to get a line on the ice that can cycle the puck and make it difficult for the Bruins to get the puck out. Faceoffs will be key.

Matt Poitras, whose career had been in the doldrums, his AHL stat line nothing to write about (at least in the positive), is thrilled to be in Tampa with the Bruins, where he will be asked to hold serve and give up nothing, using his heady stick to control zone time for the Bruins while skating between behemoth wingers Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic.

It looks like Henri Jokiharju is the only Bruin here who will not be in the lineup tonight.

The festivities are about to begin…

FIRST PERIOD

Eleven seconds in, and the first shot of the game gets past Jeremy Swayman, it’s 1-0 Lightning. Like most outdoor goals, the fans weren’t quite realizing it to explode in noise at the natural time. Brandon Hagel with the goal.

The Bruins get a powerplay when Dominic James high-sticks Charlie McAvoy, but Viktor Arvidsson evens it up only 5 seconds later.

Fraser Minten has a chance at 4v4, but his shot misses the right post.

Pontus Holmberg trips David Pastrnak, putting the Bruins on a second powerplay.

Alex Steeves is in the slot and ties it for the Bruins at 11:24 of the first. Mikey Eyssimont held the puck on the left halfwall before finding Steeves open between the points, and the utility forward skated into the slot and beat Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Tanner Jeannot makes a hit at the low end of the Boston bench that knocks the rink door open.

Oliver Bjorkstrand pokes the puck past Andrew Peeke and creates a 2-on-1, but Nikita Zadorov plays it by the book and Swayman snares Bjorkstrand’s shot. Adding insult to injury was Zadorov’s hit after the whistle. Bjorkstrand pushed back, and Steeves intervened. No penalties.

Morgan Geekie tips home McAvoy’s shot from the right point with 4:24 left in the period, and the Bruins lead the game, 2-1. The goal was a big swing moment after the Lightning pressed in the Bruins’ end.

Guentzel trips Kastelic in the neutral zone, putting the Bruins back on the powerplay with 3:05 remaining in the first period.

Arvidsson missed a great chance in the opening moments of the powerplay, but he cashed in his next chance, tipping a McAvoy shot into the far corner with 1:57 left in the period, making it a 3-1 game.

Matt Poitras gets a partial breakaway, but Vasilevskiy stops it.

After the opening 11 seconds of the game, the Bruins have outplayed the Lightning, outshooting the Bolts 19-8.

Looking over the Steeves goal, Zemgus Girgensons made a flimsy backhand attempt to flip the puck out of the D zone; the Bruins knocked it down, Eyssimont held the puck like he’s been in the lineup every night all season and made the perfectly timed centering pass to Steeves for the one-timer.

The Bruins have taken not only pride but have learned to anticipate gratification borne of dogged checking. That’s how they get their secondary offense.

Their game is on a silver platter for the NHL to see tonight.

In short, they work hard. But it still takes skill to win, and the Bruins have some in the right places.

Pastrnak was named the NHL’s Second Star for January, while Minten had already been named Rookie of the Month. The Bruins, including McAvoy, are showing why they are viable at this point of the season.

Intermission had hit 0:00 when Tim McGraw signed off, but the Zamboni-end net is still being secured, and the teams have yet to march back out to the rink.

SECOND PERIOD

Predictably, the Lightning are making an early push to close the two-goal gap in this game.

Poitras scores on the backhand off a backhand feed from Kastelic, who yesterday participated at the end of practice under the tent in a drill that starts with possession and pursuit, 1 on 1. He used some of that skill to elude the checker on the pull-up and pass to the late mane Poitras, who has made it a 4-1 game early in the second period.

Tampa comes back with a chance, but Boston defender tips the shot out of play, after which the Tampa player let out a loud expletive that the pressbox could hear in real time thanks to an audio pipeline in real time.

Holmberg is the late man to the slot, but Swayman bodies the shot and tied it up. The Bruins are making the Lightning work hard for their scoring chances, and Swayman has been all over the shots they’ve gotten.

The Lightning rachet up the forecheck, and Swayman has to make a stop and a follow-up, but the goal scorer is at the other end and it’s Morgan Geekie on the 2-1/2 on 1. Pastrnak with the play, and Khusnutdinov (secondary assist) ran a little obstruction without leaving his path. Time of the goal 8:18 – 5-1 Boston.

McAvoy to the box for roughing for giving back to Girgensons after taking a hard hit against the bench boards. TBL to the PP: PPG for TBL at 10:28, and a fracas to follow with penalties. The fallout: Kastelic goes alone, and the officials are unofficially calling the scoreboard rather than the action in front of them, starting with the McAvoy penalty.

Lightning are getting another powerplay, and the Bruins’ two points are suddenly in question …

This time Swayman gets involved, and then meets Vasilevskiy at center ice for the first-ever goalie fight in an outdoor game. No punches landed. Time of the circus: 11:01.

The result is matching minors and matching majors, but it’s still 5v4 for the remaining 1:27 of Kastelic’s penalty.

Bruins get the kill thanks largely to Minten, but the next unit ices the puck.

Swayman knocks the puck over the glass, and the Bruins are back on the penalty kill. It’s been a fast second period turned ugly. It all began with the retaliation call on McAvoy, the subsequent pressure, physicality, Boston pushback and penalties, but the Bruins have managed to get to the final six minutes of the period still up 5-2.

If you’re wondering about Morgan Geekie’s brother Conor, he’s playing this season for the AHL Syracuse Crunch, getting his reps.

Arvidsson serving for Swayman.

TBL PP: Jeannot off for interference with 5:44. so it’s a 5-on-3 for 1:48.

The three killers: Lindholm, McAvoy and Sean Kuraly.

Hagel is trying real hard to get McAvoy off the ice.

Kuraly closes his hand on the puck. Extension of the 5v3 coming.

Darren Raddysh scores from the center point, and it’s 5-3 with 4:10 in a second period that has seen the Bruins lose their discipline. Still 5v3 for a short bit, but the Lightning convert again with 3 seconds left on the 5v3, meaning they’ve got 1:37 more with Kuraly in the box to tie the game.

Bruins finally get the kill, closing the “bad inning” – they were like a bad baseball team, not getting the outs, and that was more costly in the end of the sequence.

Poitras and Lohrei caught out together in the final minute, and Swayman has to make a big stop to get the Bruins to second intermission still holding the lead.

The Bruins ice the puck with 3.3 seconds left in the period. Minten wins the draw, and the Bruins get to the room with a 5-4 lead at the end of two periods. Having led the game 5-1, no doubt the message will be one of discipline in the third period.

This Boston team smacks with memory of Claude Julien’s first season (2007-08), when he encouraged the team not to get pushed around and fight for one another. Tonight the same basic approach may cost them one to two precious points in the standings, but a win tonight would be monumental, considering how the game unraveled on the Bruins in the second period.

Two things need to happen in the third period for the Bruins to take two points out of Raymond James Stadium: 1. Obvious; 2. The offense cannot go away. The Bruins cannot be contented with a game of retrieve and dump to center, they’ve got to generate their own forecheck and play most of the third period north of center ice. It’ll probably take another goal or two, which is obviously a challenge considering the year Vasilevskiy is having. But the Bruins are up to it. They need to get to their game. The closure of this scoreboard was gifted to the Lightning, at first by scoreboard officiating but later by the Bruins themselves. They cannot get into thinking and leaving their high energy behind. The Bruins have to get back to the game they practiced under the tent, the one that served them so well during their recent homestand. Twenty minutes.

THIRD PERIOD

Diligent two-way start for both teams, edge to Tampa but not by much. Goalies are seeing funneled shots for now. We’re nearly halfway through the third period, and it’s been a methodical, well-played stretch completely unlike what we saw in the second period.

The Lightning get the cycle going, and Nikita Kucherov finds the net from down low, a blazer of a shot and it’s 5-5 with 8:10 left in regulation.

The Bruins are one and done on the attack, and that has to change for this result to go their way.

Geekie can’t find the headman, and it’s icing on the Bruins with 5.7 seconds left in regulation. The Bolts win the draw, but the Bruins get the block and clear.

A point in the books, and we go to overtime.

Shots through regulation: 37-34 Tampa Bay.

OVERTIME

Geekie scores, but the play had already been blown down for a penalty on Pastrnak for slashing, and there goes the discipline 18 seconds into the overtime.

Tampa hits a post. Swayman makes more saves.

Lindholm turns it over, gets it back, then ices it with 1:13 left in OT.

Kucherov breakaway, save Swayman, his eighth of the OT.

Lindholm for hooking with 24.7 seconds left in the OT, so the Lightning have one more opportunity to end this game with a PPG.

Cooper uses his one and only.

Swayman makes a save with .5 seconds left, but will time go back on the game clock? No. Vasilevskiy out. Puck slides into Swayman.

Final shots on net: 46-34.

SHOOTOUT

TB: Goncalves, save Swayman.

B: Mittelstadt, broken up on the backhand deke.

TB: Kucherov, Swayman shuts off the post move.

B: Minten, save Vasilevskiy (closed the 5 hole).

TB: Guentzel: Scores.

B: Pastrnak, save Vasilevskiy.

Lightning win, 6-5.

Don’t break anything, it’s only the regular season.