Hell yes! WOOOOOOOOOO! Bruins reach their first Stanley Cup finals since 1990

I never played a day of organized hockey in my life so I'm not going to sit here and claim that the Boston Bruins have been my everything since I strapped on a pair of skates.

However, I will say that as I've gotten older and the three other Boston professional sports teams have all won championships in the last decade, the Bruins have become the last place for a real fan existence that you can find in this town. Up until now, the B's haven't been trendy, they always let their fans down and they are one of the most frustrating franchises in sports.

Well no more complaining from me or other true Bruins fans as they won the Eastern Conference finals last night by virtue of a scintillating 1-0 Game 7 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden.

Boston is back in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1990 and they'll get it started on Wednesday in Vancouver against the Canucks.

It's only fitting that their epic series was capped off with one of their greatest wins in franchise history. Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas made 24 saves for his second shutout of the series and Nathan Horton had the game-winner at 12:27 of the third period (his eighth of the playoffs) to send the Garden into delirium.

People hate on soccer when it's 0-0 but it's hard to picture a hockey game being much more exciting even though both teams failed to score a goal for over 52 minutes of regulation. Unlike the NBA where the refs have to be front and center all the time, the NHL refs assigned to the game last night stayed out of the way and didn't call a single penalty (first time that's happened in 20 years)!

When Milan Lucic was stuffed on a breakaway on the first period, it was clear that Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson (37 saves) was sharp and it would probably be a very low scoring game.

Kudos to Tampa Bay for playing their asses off. Star Steven Stamkos took a Johnny Boychuk slap shot right off his nose in the second period and he only missed a few minutes of action. His face was disgusting but I have a new found respect for him since he sucked it up and got right back out there.

Andrew Ference started the goal with a long breakout pass to David Krejci. Dangerous David put a perfect backhand pass right between Roloson, a pair of Tampa Bay defensemen and on Horton's stick. All he had to do was redirect it in.

The Bruins will be heavy underdogs against the Canucks, who rolled through the Western Conference, but they wouldn't want it any other way. It's been clear in the postseason that this is a different Bruins team. They're not the choke artists of the past as they proved again and again (beating Montreal in a Game 7 overtime, sweeping the Flyers, beating Tampa Bay in another Game 7).

I'm not making any predictions but I think it's going to be a really good series. You have to remember that Vancouver has never won a Stanley Cup in their 40 years of existence (a longer drought than the B's by a year) so it's not like Boston's facing Detroit or something. The Bruins have Thomas, Zdeno Chara and a team full of guys that know their roles and don't get rattled.

Hockey in June! Pinch me.

Can I please trademark "It's never easy with the Boston Bruins"?

Before the Eastern Conference finals started between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning a few weeks back, I felt that either way the series was going the distance (seven games).

Still I take no joy in knowing that I was right since the B's should have ended this series already. Tampa Bay won 5-4 at the St. Pete Times Forum last night to tie it up at 3 and send the teams back to the TD Garden tomorrow night for Game 7 and a shot in the Stanley Cup finals against the Vancouver Canucks (starting next Wednesday).

Last night's outcome couldn't be more simply defined: Tampa Bay's power play was 3 of 4 while Boston was 1 of 5. The gamesmanship from Lightning head coach Guy Boucher before Game 6 is irrelevant since the B's had more opportunities and also earned the first three power plays of the game so end of discussion.

I would love to dump on the Bruins for losing since it might make me feel temporarily better but they don't deserve it. They actually showed a ton of heart (rare for them) as they battled back from a 5-3 deficit in the third period and essentially ran out of time as Tampa Bay switched roles with Boston and hung on for dear life.

The loss wasted a hat trick by David Krejci along with a big boy game by his linemates Milan Lucic (1 goal, 1 assist) and Nathan Horton (2 assists). Unfortunately, the Lightning received similar primetime performances from Martin St. Louis (2 goals, 1 assist), Steven Stamkos (1 goal, 2 assists) and Vincent Lecavalier (2 assists).

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (21 saves) continued his trick or treat series with another rough outing. Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson (16 saves) didn't do much and looked extremely shaky as well but hey, he came out on top.

Besides the power play struggles for Boston, which everyone in New England could point out (including my dog and cat at this point), the much more unreported nightmare has been the Bruins' propensity to give up both early and late goals in periods. Two times last night, Tampa Bay scored with 36 seconds or less into a frame. That's simply unacceptable at any time, especially now with so much at stake.

Teddy Purcell made it 1-0 Tampa Bay 36 seconds into Game 6, scoring his fifth of the playoffs assisted by Lecavalier. Before Bruins fans could freak out too much, Lucic had scored his third of the playoffs (at 7:09 from Horton and Johnny Boychuk) and Krejci potted his eighth of the playoffs (at 16:30 off a nice feed from Daniel Paille of all people).

All the effort and hard work in the first was quickly wiped out in the second as the Lightning got a pair of power play goals. St. Louis tied it up at 7:55 (from Lecavalier and Stamkos) and Purcell scored his second at 13:35 (from Steve Downie and Brett Clark).

Boston always seems to play better from behind so a one-goal deficit wasn't the end of the world, particularly since they were on the road (where they're more mentally tough for some unknown reason).

Stamkos scored (his sixth of the postseason, from Eric Brewer and St. Louis) another power play goal, 34 seconds into the third and that seemed like game over.

Krejci wouldn't let the B's go down so quietly as he cut it to 4-3 at 9:46 on the power play (!). Horton and Tomas Kaberle had the assists.

Before you could even get too excited though, Boston made sure to punch you in the gut one more time as St. Louis scored the game-winner 29 seconds later. Downie and Stamkos assisted on a play that was a complete fail by so many Bruins. Boychuk pinched in offensive zone and got caught up ice, Thomas over committed and came out too far and Ference didn't cut off the cross ice feed. Yuck.

Boucher was still in a gift giving mood and he let Krejci get his hat trick (Boston's first in the playoffs since Cam Neely in 1991) at 13:28 from Lucic and Kaberle. However, the Bruins couldn't find the tying goal and are forced to play one more deciding game.

I don't care if you have tickets to Game 7, no sane Bruins fan (an oxymoron) wanted it to happen. Boston survived Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round but in the last three seasons they've departed the playoffs with brutal Game 7 losses. The last two were particularly unforgivable since they were on home ice.

Tomorrow night will answer many questions regarding head coach Claude Julien's legacy along with the leaders of the team: Thomas, Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron to name a few. If the Bruins lose, it's time to shake things up since this group will have maxed out and they won't go any further with a coach as stubborn and simple-minded as Julien.

Black and Gold are getting it done

At times in the last few years as I got into the team more and more, I honestly never thought the Boston Bruins would reach this point in my entire life.

They are on the cusp of the Stanley Cup finals (for the first time in 21 years) after last night's 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

As everyone knows, closing out a team is the toughest part (especially for this franchise) but don't you have the feeling that this year is different?

The B's are up 3-2 in the series thanks to another outstanding performance from goaltender Tim Thomas (33 saves). He made the save of the season (which really shouldn't surprise you if you've watched him for years) on Lightning scumbag Steve Downie which left Downie pouting alone on the bench after the game had long ended. Strange cat.

Tampa Bay gave Mike Smith (17 saves) his first career playoff start and he wasn't good or bad. The two goals that he gave up were impossible to stop by anyone while Boston added an empty-netter to close it out.

The crazy part about the win was that the Lightning came out flying in the first period while the Bruins seemed to be stuck in the locker room, on the tarmac at Logan Airport or at some other undisclosed location.

Simon Gagne gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead 1:09 into regulation after a 2-on-1 break from Steven Stamkos. Andrew Ference got caught up ice and Gagne was able to pot his fifth of the playoffs. If I had been in Boston at the time, I might have jumped off the Tobin Bridge but thankfully the Bruins always always play better from behind as everybody knows at this point.

Thomas held the fort for the rest of the period and his teammates finally woke up from their zombie-like slumber near the end of the frame as they got engaged physically and put four (4!) shots on Smith.

Nathan Horton was one of the only Bruins that was emotionally into it from the start (and that caused two stupid penalties on him) but he tied it up at 4:24 of the second period on a sublime one-timer. Horton's seventh of the playoffs (called by Ryan before the game started) featured a great backhand assist from Milan Lucic and Krejci had the second helper.

Brad Marchand (or as my girlfriend mistakenly called him-The Marshmallow Man) scored the game-winner at 15:56 after an even sweeter feed from Patrice Bergeron. Stationed along the boards, Bergeron whipped a forehand pass to Marchand, who skated past Martin St. Louis and tipped it past Smith (for his sixth of the playoffs). Zdeno Chara had the second assist as he started the play by holding the puck in Tampa Bay's zone.

Thomas made a huge save (helped out by the post) on Adam Hall early in the third period and then came the bananas stop on Downie which barely left the roof on the Garden.

Rich Peverley (second of the playoffs) put it away with an empty-netter at 19:47 of the third period, assisted by Chris Kelly.

So here we are. One more win and the Bruins will get to a place that nobody and I mean nobody predicted they would find themselves this postseason or maybe ever again. Game 6 is tomorrow night in Tampa Bay and Lightning part-time serial killer and head coach Guy Boucher has already announced that Dwayne Roloson is the starter again in between the pipes. It could be some gamesmanship from the Butcher, we shall see. If it's true, advantage Bruins.

Nothing is ever easy for this team or this franchise but for God's sakes, get it over tomorrow night. I don't want to see them in another Game 7 with a trip to the Stanley Cup finals on the line.

Claude Julien's Boston Bruins: Blowing 3-0 leads for life

I can't explain why but no lead ever seems safe when you're a Boston Bruins fan. A three-goal lead in hockey should be analogous to a three-touchdown lead in football or 20-point lead in basketball.

Still, the B's have found themselves on top 3-0 last postseason in Game 7 in the Flyers (how'd that one end?) and this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals and in both cases, they have lost. I can never recall a team in any sport that was so good playing from behind and yet so consistently terrible playing with a lead. It's insane.

What is it about three-goal leads with the Bruins? That doesn't even count the Game 2 win against Tampa Bay where Boston went up 6-3 but barely survived for a 6-5 win.

Today's 5-3 win by the Lightning, notice they scored five unanswered goals, was a considerable nut shot to the Stanley Cup hopes of the Bruins and their long suffering fans.

Perhaps we should have known the sky would soon fall (it was Judgement Day after all) as Boston quieted the St. Pete Times Forum crowd with a trio of goals in the first period. There wasn't a strong one in the bunch as Patrice Bergeron scored an unassisted goal at 11:47 after a terrible Tomas Kaberle style giveaway behind Tampa Bay's goal.

The B's went up 2-0 on an even stranger goal as Michael Ryder skated in on a 2-on-1, waited too long to pass it but was beyond lucky to have the puck deflect off a Lightning defenseman and behind goaltender Dwayne Roloson (6 saves). Chris Kelly and Kaberle assisted on Ryder's fifth of the playoffs.

The dream first period was closed out with an unassisted shorthanded goal by Bergeron at 17:58. His long shot went right through Roloson's five hole (he would be pulled after the first period).

We all should have known that there was way too much time left for the Lightning and their potent offense. They're not the Bruins, they wouldn't go out that quietly. As Boston retreated back into their defensive shell (thanks Claude), Teddy Purcell scored a quick pair of goals (at 6:55 and 7:58) to pull Tampa Bay within 3-2.

Neither was Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas' (32 saves) fault as they came directly from snipe city. Purcell undressed Adam McQuaid on the first one with a toe drag then scored on a low backhander that Thomas couldn't reach. Simon Gagne assisted on that one.

Mattias Ohlund and Vincent Lecavalier assisted on Purcell's fourth of the playoffs which was a high shot over Thomas's blocker side.

Most coaches would probably call a timeout at that point since the team was in full meltdown mode but not Julien. Nope, best to play it out at that point and see what you're rattled team can do.

To nobody's surprise, Bergenheim tied it up at 10:53 (his 10th of the playoffs) off a rebound from Domenic Moore. Safe to say the Lightning didn't look back from there. A timeout there would have made sense too but no dice. Clearly, Claude doesn't need timeouts. I mean, who could argue with his results?

At this point, if I was a smarter man I would have gone outside and enjoyed the beautiful day (the first in weeks) but no I'm a dumb ass Bruins fan. I knew that they weren't coming out of this one with a win but I sat there like a goon and watch them piss down their leg as always.

The best I can say is that at least they didn't prolong the agony and send it to overtime. Simon Gagne had the game-winner as he scored his fourth of the playoffs at 6:54 from Ryan Malone. Still plenty of time left in the frame but who thought the B's had a prayer at that point? They continued to skate their lane while the conveyor belt of four lines rolled out and not really do much of anything (which could be said of the final two periods) and Martin St. Louis closed it out with an empty net goal at 19:23 (his eighth of the playoffs) from Gagne and Victor Hedman.

Mike Smith (21 saves) played the final two periods and didn't allow a goal but I honestly can't think of one above average save that he had to make. Boston didn't test him at all (and why would you with a goaltender that just got thrown in there?) but regardless, he should get the start in Game 5.

We have Sunday to cry about this latest choke job but then it's back to business on Monday as the teams return to Boston for Game 5 at TD Garden. Who knows what to expect from the Bruins? They could have a short memory and play well or they could have an emotional hangover (helped by their rightly paranoid crowd) and they'll lose again, which will probably signal their demise. So yeah Game 5 is important but good luck guessing what is going to happen.

Tim Thomas restores some order in the Eastern Conference finals

After scoring five goals in both Game 1 and Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Tampa Bay Lightning's potent offense was due for a letdown. Likewise, the defensively strong Boston Bruins couldn't possibly play any worse in their own end.

Some order was restored to the hockey universe last night in Game 3 at the St. Pete Times Forum as Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (31 saves) shut out the Lightning 2-0, helping Boston grab the all-important 2-1 lead (and wrestle back the home-ice advantage they lost in Game 1).

If you watched the B's all season, the team that skated last night was a much closer resemblance than the frauds that showed up in Game 1 and 2. Yes they won Game 2, but they're not going to win many games playing run and gun hockey with a team as talented offensively as the Lightning.

David Krejci popped a goal 1:09 into regulation and from there, Boston improved to 7-0 in the playoffs when they score first. Milan Lucic and Johnny Boychuk had the assists on Krejci's team-high seventh of the postseason. A defensive breakdown by Tampa Bay allowed Krejci to camp in front of goaltender Dwayne Roloson (23 saves) and wait him out (he took a Thomas-esque dive) before shoveling a backhander in.

After a scoreless and truthfully dull second period (which plays exactly into Claude Julien and the Bruins' paws), Andrew Ference scored his second of the playoffs at 8:12 of the third period. Michael Ryder and Chris Kelly had the assists to a goal which was originally given to Tyler Seguin (who didn't come even close to tipping it). There was tons of traffic in front of Roloson and he stopped it but the puck had just enough steam on it to trickle over the goal line in slow motion.

Thomas had to make a couple great saves but other than that, Tampa Bay was pretty quiet even when they were down two goals.

Game 4 is tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. and I don't have to be a genius like Lightning head coach Guy Boucher to tell you that it's the biggest game of the series. If the B's win, they'll be one game away from the Stanley Cup finals (!). If they lose, Tampa Bay is right back into it and they will have forgotten their struggles in Game 2 and 3.

Tyler Seguin will give you pants tents for days

With last night's roller coaster 6-5 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden, the Boston Bruins tied the Eastern Conference finals 1-1 with the series shifting to Florida tomorrow night for Game 3.

If his career pans out, the foremost memory from the win will be rookie Tyler Seguin's absurd four-point night. After sitting out the first two playoff series', he had a goal and assist in Game 1 on Saturday. He doubled that output and better yet, did it all in one period (the second, tying a team record) as Boston turned a 2-1 deficit into a 6-3 lead and then held on for dear life.

It's hard to believe that Boston goaltender Tim Thomas (36 saves) had a good game when he gave up five goals, including a couple soft ones but trust me when I tell you that he made a couple unbelievable stops in the third to secure this vital win.

Lightning goaltender and Stephen King doppleganger Dwayne Roloson (21 saves) came back to Earth like you knew a 41-year-old journeyman eventually would. Like Thomas, he actually made a bunch of solid stops (in the first period) but was done in by a leaky defense in front of him and pulled after the second period.

In a crazy contest, it's only fitting that Boston's beyond dead power play arose from the dead, scored two goals and created numerous other chances. Yeah, it was that kind of night.

Once again, Tampa Bay took an early lead, this time 13 seconds into regulation as Adam Hall (first of the playoffs) took advantage of a shot off the back boards that bounced right to him as he used his backhanded to put in a tough angle shot. Vincent Lecavalier and former Bruin Nate Thompson assisted on that gift.

Nathan Horton (sixth of the playoffs) got the Bruins on the board with their first power-play strike, at 13:58. He tipped in Dennis Seidenberg's shot from the point with Tomas Kaberle picking up the second assist.

The B's absolutely dominated play in the first period (18-11 shot advantage) yet it was a bitter feeling as the Lightning scored another fluky goal with seven seconds left in the frame. Steven Stamkos threw the puck at the net and Martin St. Louis was in front to bat it in past Thomas for his seventh of the playoffs. Lecavalier also assisted on that one.

Yes, the B's almost committed a nightmare of a collapse in the third period as they seemingly couldn't gain control of the puck or do simple things like score into an empty net but hey, they won. With Patrice Bergeron likely to make his return in Game 3, there's much to be excited about.

Given the stakes and setting, I honestly can't think of a better period than the one submitted in the second by Boston (5-1 in a must-win game in the Eastern Conference finals). Therefore, I stand by my delirious Tweet from last night that said "best Bruins period of my life." For 20 minutes, Claude Julien's boring defensive system was thrown into the trash as Seguin and the Bruins' other most talented forwards flew around the rink.

Seguin tied it up 48 seconds into the second after Michael Ryder sprung him for a breakaway. The 19-year-old knows what do in that position and he beat Roloson with a sweet backhander.

At 2:24 Seidenberg found David Krejci with a nice cross-ice feed and Krejci one-timed it for his sixth goal of the playoffs. Horton also assisted on his linemate's tally.

At 6:30 Seguin roofed a forehand shot over Roloson, assisted by Horton and Adam McQuaid. It's not understatement to say the TD Garden went bananas at that point, breaking out the Tyler.....Seguin chant.

Lecavalier (sixth of the playoffs) struck on a Tampa Bay power play to pull the Lightning within 4-3 at 7:48. St. Louis and Stamkos had the assists.

The ghost of Michael Ryder stopped by for a visit late in the second period and it was a pleasant stay as he potted two goals of his own (his third and fourth of the playoffs). He scored on the power play at 16:16 from Seguin (of course) and Kaberle. With 19 seconds left in the second, Ryder jumped on a rebound and scored after Roloson had stopped shots from Chris Kelly and Seguin.

I don't know how to explain it but Boston is just the worst hockey team ever playing with a lead, especially when it's more than one goal. Furthering my point, they were completely lifeless in the third period as Stamkos sniped one over Thomas' shoulder at 3:47 (his fifth of the playoffs) from Victor Hedman and Hall.

The clock seemed to be stuck in slow motion or maybe it was just the Bruins who seemed to be killing an invisible penalty all period. When former Harvard star Dominic Moore put in a rebound (on a play that should have been whistled dead since Thomas' mask came off) at 13:15, it looked like Tampa Bay was going to win this game.

Thankfully for hearts across New England, that didn't happen as the B's managed to hang on despite things like Milan Lucic shooting over an empty net (something you don't see every day).

Last night only proved that this series is probably going to the distance (seven games) either way. Tampa Bay has too much firepower to go down quietly but Boston has better goaltending (usually) and defense (sometimes) with more overall depth. Seguin really is the X factor; if he can continue to produce and Bergeron returns, I like the B's chances to get to their first Stanley Cup final since 1990.

Bruins take the time machine back to Games 1-2 vs. Montreal

After not having a game for eight days, we were all dying for a taste of the Boston Bruins in the playoffs, especially since the Celtics are now done and the B's had advanced farther than they had in the past 18 years.

In true Bruins form, they completely let everybody down by getting smoked 5-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals last night at TD Garden.

After sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers and winning four of its last five against the Montreal Canadiens earlier in the playoffs, the B's took a trip back to the nightmarish Games 1-2 against the Habs. In those games, Boston routinely gave goals to Montreal with awful turnovers and bad rebounds from Tim Thomas.

Tampa Bay put Game 1 away with a flurry of three goals in a span of 1:25 of the first period. At 11:15, Sean Bergenheim (8th of the playoffs) made it 1-0 as Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg kicked it right to him in front of the net. Totally not Thomas' fault. Dominic Moore and Victor Hedman assisted on that one.

19 seconds later, Brett Clark went from one end of the rink to the other and threw a weak sauce backhander on Thomas (29 saves). It trickled through Thomas for Clark's first goal of the postseason. Completely unforgivable.

Bruins head coach Claude Julien should have called a timeout right then but he waited and things somehow got even worse as Tomas Kaberle coughed up the puck right behind the net and Teddy Purcell stuffed it by Thomas for his second of the playoffs and a shocking 3-0 Lightning lead just 12:40 into the first period.

At 15:59 of the first period, Tyler Seguin cut it to 3-1 with a moment of brilliance, his first career playoff goal in his first playoff game. He was assisted by Michael Ryder and Rich Peverley but Seguin did all the hard work as he dangled past a Tampa Bay defenseman.

Boston put some shots on Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson (31 saves) but they didn't get enough traffic in front or simply shot wide of the net. Plus, Tampa Bay blocked roughly 50 shots.

Marc-Andre Bergeron clinched it for the Lightning with a power-play goal at 13:37 of the third period. His second of the playoffs, it was assisted by Brett Clark and Martin St. Louis.

Simon Gagne added an empty-netter (his third of the season, from Purcell) before Johnny Boychuk (third of the playoffs) got a garbage time goal for the Bruins, from Seguin.

Game 2 is Tuesday night back at TD Garden. I don't think the Bruins could play much worse. Tampa Bay's top offensive players (Steven Stamkos, St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier) were quiet in Game 1 so that'll soon change. Thomas will be better and Boston cannot possibly give Tampa Bay easier goals. It is a must-win since Tampa Bay is better than Montreal and Philadelphia and the B's don't want to be down 2-0 against such a good team with the series headed to their home rink.

Bruins win seventh straight, vault to second in Eastern Conference

The Boston Bruins are clicking on all cylinders right now. It makes you wish that the regular season would fast forward and the playoffs could start like this weekend.

The Bs won their seventh straight game last night, 2-1 over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden, and with the two points they jumped over Tampa Bay into second place in the Eastern Conference.

Boston (38-19-7) is now only three points behind top-seed Philadelphia and they've proven that they can play any style of game and usually come out on top: high-scoring, low-scoring, chippy, filled with fights. It doesn't matter what you throw at them at the moment, the Bruins are the NHL's hottest team.

The Lightning (37-20-7) scored first as defenseman Eric Brewer found the back of the net at 4:04 of the second period, assisted by Blair Jones and Steve Downie.

However, it only took 2:02 for Bruins rookie defenseman Steve Kampfer to tie it up with a seeing-eye slap shot from the point. Kampfer's fifth goal of the season was assisted by Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley.

It doesn't seem to be their way at all since they're a finesse team but Tampa Bay tried to push the Bruins around which ended rather comically. Shawn Thornton and Downie got game misconducts in the second period and Milan Lucic dropped the gloves with Brewer.

Throughout the contest, the Lightning exhibited a Canadiens-like tendency to fall, trip, turtle and basically employ every cheap trick in the book. Even good guy Martin St. Louis stuck his skate out which propelled Mark Recchi into Tampa Bay's net. Strange.

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (27 saves; 29-8-6) and Lightning backup Mike Smith (26 saves) both played well and it looked like we were headed to overtime.

That was until Lucic chipped in a bad-angle shot at 16:18 of the third period for the game-winner, his 28th of the season. Linemates David Krejci and Nathan Horton assisted and got in Smith's way on the goal. There was a pile of bodies in Tampa Bay's crease and the puck popped out. Lucic got to it first and threw the shot on net which turned out to be the difference.

Lucic deserved it after he had had the post earlier in the game. Lightning superstar Steve Stamkos also had a shot rattle off the post and then right to Thomas.

Kampfer left the game with a mild concussion so he'll probably miss a few games.

Boston hosts Pittsburgh tomorrow night as they try to grab their eighth consecutive win against the Penguins who will be without the injured Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

My apologies Claude, apparently the Boston Bruins still listen to you

I can't put a finger on it as to the exact reason why (which doesn't matter) but the Boston Bruins are back to playing good hockey.

They won their third straight game, 4-3 last night over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum, in what will definitely go down as one of their most start-to-finish exciting contests of 2010-2011.

Three times the Bruins (20-11-4) went ahead by a goal, only to have the Lightning (21-11-5) respond each time by tying it up.

However, Mark Recchi wouldn't let Boston go to overtime for the second consecutive night as he scored a clutchtastic goal on a snap shot with 20 seconds left in regulation.

None of that would have been possible without more top-notch goaltending by Tim Thomas (31 saves). Conversely, Tampa Bay goaltender Dan Ellis (25 saves) is the weak link that will hold back one of the NHL's most dynamic, explosive teams from reaching their full potential (sound familiar Washington Capitals?).

Michael Ryder got the party started early for the Bs he notched a power-play goal 28 seconds into the game, from Recchi and Dennis Seidenberg.

Steven Stamkos, the savior of my terrible fantasy hockey team, answered with a power-play strike of his own less than seven minutes later from Brett Clark and Ryan Malone.

A nice moment occurred in the second period as Bruins rookie defenseman Steve Kampfer scored his first NHL goal, from Marc Savard and Nathan Horton.

Back from a broken hand, Vincent Lecavalier tied it at 2 at 14:02 in the second period from Sean Bergenheim and Pavel Kubina.

That set the stage for a thrilling third period as Brad Marchand (returning after missing 3 games) scored from Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell. Yes, it is annoying how much Julien chooses to play the fourth line at times but you have to admit that they've been great so far this season.

Thomas' old UVM teammate Martin St. Louis tied it one last time at 3 with help from Stamkos and Kubina.

Recchi's game-winner was assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Seidenberg.

Tomorrow night is the middle game of the Bruins' five-game road trip and it could be a messy one: vs. the Atlanta Thrashers, who had a wannabe MMA battle in Boston last Thursday night.

No doubt Milan Lucic will be at the center of it all after he was targeted last week and later fined for a punch on Freddy Meyer while he was held by the referees.

Don't forget to tell all your friends in Atlanta that love hockey, oh nevermind.

Savvy's back! Now let's start planning that parade route in June for the Stanley Cup

In the recent history of Boston sports, there's no local pro athlete that I have felt worse for than Boston Bruins center Marc Savard.

Not only did he miss much of last season on a dirty hit by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke (which went unpunished by Colin Campbell - and now we might know why given his e-mail history) but he also missed 23 games this season while he recovered from the lingering effects of that pesky concussion.

Finally, Savard returned to the ice last night as the Bruins absolutely skated circles around the Tampa Bay Lightning, 8-1 at the TD Garden.

Savard didn't even have a point in the game which saw seven different Bruins (14-8-2) score goals but that's not the point (no pun intended). With him back, Boston has way more depth offensively and can boast a center combo of Savard, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron and Gregory Campball. Not bad at all.

After losing in Tampa Bay last week, this blowout was quite unexpected since the Lightning (14-9-3) are one of the NHL's most up and coming young teams.

With Tim Thomas (13-2-1; 37 saves) in goal, this was never really a contest as the Bruins led 2-0 after one period and 4-1 after two periods before pumping in four in the third period. Cue the youth hockey coaches and assorted douchebags saying something dumb like wish those goals carried over.

Krejci opened the scoring with a goal from Milan Lucic and Andrew Ference at 10:51 in the first. Dennis Seidenberg made it 2-0 with 20 seconds left in the frame when his snap shot from the point went past Tampa Bay goaltender Mike Smith (17 saves). Smith completely misjudged the play as he thought Seidenberg was going to wrap it around the boards, instead he put it on goal and was lucky enough to get his first tally of the season.

Lucic increased the Boston lead to 3-0 at 6:48 in the second period from Krejci and Nathan Horton (who lately had been the invisible man).

Victor Hedman broke Thomas' bid for another shutout at 15:14 on a one-timer from Ryan Malone and Sean Bergenheim. That would be the Lightning's only highlight of a forgettable night.

Shawn Thornton answered with Boston's second cupcake goal. A Lightning defenseman and Smith fumbled with the puck and it ended up right on the goal-line where Thornton just had to skate up and tap it in. Brad Marchand and Thomas assisted.

It might be because I was watching it a bar with no sound on but the third period was nuts. It seemed like every shot the Bruins threw at the Tampa Bay net went in.

34 seconds into the third Krejci potted his second, unassisted. That prompted Smith to get pulled but it didn't matter as Dan Ellis (7 saves) certainly wasn't the solution to Tampa Bay's myriad problems.

1:16 after Ellis entered, Michael Ryder greeted him with an unassisted goal of his own. Later, Mark Recchi scored on a power play (from Ryder and Zdeno Chara) and Blake Wheeler (who else?) closed it out with a goal from Recchi.

Boston looks to be playing good hockey once again so ideally they can keep it going as they travel to Toronto tomorrow night to meet Phil Kessel and the still-shitty Maple Leafs.

PS. The Marco Sturm trade to the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional draft pick didn't happen, at least not yet. Not sure why it fell through but apparently it wasn't because he failed a physical. Uh ok then.

That Steven Stamkos can sure play some hockey

Forgive me since my cable package doesn't get many Tampa Bay Lightning games but seeing my fantasy hockey stud Steven Stamkos live on TV was something to behold.

Luckily, the NHL can't properly market anything so he'll be toiling in obscurity in the land of blue hairs and early bird specials for a long time.

Anyways, Tampa Bay (12-7-2) skated circles around the Boston Bruins (11-6-2) last night at the St. Pete Times Forum in a one-sided 3-1 win.

Kindly enough for all the old people in the crowd and watching at home (haha yeah right), Tampa Bay did all their work in an eight minute span in the second period.

Dana Tyrell made it 1-0, Stamkos scored his NHL leading 20th goal of the season (from Martin St. Louis and Steve Downie) and Teddy Purcell tipped one in from Dominic Moore and Ryan Malone.

And that was it. As per usual this season, Tuukka Rask (33 saves) was not the problem but he still fell to a snakebitten 1-5-1.

Naturally Boston woke up in the third period when it was too late. Michael Ryder scored his sixth goal of the season from Blake Wheeler and Jordan Caron.

Lightning goaltender Mike Smith (26 saves) did enough to walk away with the win. Overall, Tampa Bay is an impressive team. They're fast and skilled even without the injured Vincent Lecavalier and Simon Gagne.

The Bs end their short two-game stint in the Sunshine State with a rematch against the Florida Panthers tomorrow night. Hopefully Florida plays as terribly as they did last week in Boston.

Did the Boston Bruins peak too early?

With last night's 4-3 loss to the god-awful Tampa Bay Lightning, the Boston Bruins wrapped up their shit the bed tour with a 1-3-1 record.

For anyone that has watched this team all season, it's clear that a change has to be made. The trade deadline is next week and the B's desperately an experienced veteran forward and a puck-moving defenseman, is that too much to ask?

It's hard to pinpoint exactly where this season started to turn but the Bruins of the last month have barely resembled the world-beaters of the season's first few months.

There's no energy and the goal-scoring that seemed to come at will has almost completely dried up.

Sure it's not all doom and gloom as Boston (40-12-8) still sits on top of the Eastern Conference, seven points ahead of the Capitals but we don't want to see this team choke in the first round of the playoffs. Right now, that looks like a real possibility.

After Saturday night's weak 2-0 loss to the Panthers, you had to figure the Bruins would take out some frustration on the overmatched Lightning (20-28-12).

The game started out fast as both teams scored twice in the first period. Phil Kessel broke his long scoring slump with his 25th goal of the year (Marc Savard, Milan Lucic). Jeff Halpern tied it up for Tampa (from Matt Pettinger and Steve Eminger). Then Adam Hall made it 2-1 Lightning with assists to Ryan Craig and Evgeny Artyukhin.

Andrew Ference potted his first goal of the year on the power play to compete the scoring in the first. Savard and Dennis Wideman had the assists.

Along with the power play (which has been one of the team's biggest weaknesses lately), the B's showed some backbone with not one but two fights in the first period.

The ageless Mark Recchi gave Tampa Bay the lead again at 3-2 (from Josef Melichar and David Koci) before Zdeno Chara (14th) tied it with helpers to Chuck Kobasew and Aaron Ward.

Boston dominated play, outshooting Tampa Bay 43-18 but that didn't matter as Lightning goaltender Karri Ramo was great, recording 40 saves.

On a power play, Vaclav Prospal (Halpern, Martin St. Louis) scored the game-winner for the Lightning with 1:33 left in the third.

The good news is that Boston comes home for a six-game homestand, starting tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers.

Bruins just keep piling up the wins

Even when the Boston Bruins don't play particularly well this season, they still win. The B's (19-4-4) scored three goals in a four minute and two second span in the first period and held on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning (6-13-8), 5-3, last night at the Garden.

At 6:44 in the first, Milan Lucic began the impressive burst with a power-play goal (his 7th goal of the season) from Dennis Wideman and Phil Kessel.

Kessel made it 2-0 less than three minutes later as his attempted pass went off a Tampa Bay defenseman's stick and past goalie Mike Smith (19 saves).

Michael Ryder (7th of the season) put it out of reach at 10:46 with a nice shot, assists going to Shane Hnidy and Matt Hunwick.

Boston had a chance to make it 4-0 in the second period but P.J. Axelsson could not score on a penalty shot.

Adam Hall cut it to 3-1 Bruins at 13:06 in the second period (assists from Evgeny Artyukhin and Paul Ranger).

My fantasy team got some help from Zdeno Chara (who's had a so-so season thus far) when the big captain blasted home a power-play goal on one of his monstrous slap-shots. David Krejci and Wideman (10th assist) had the helpers.

In the third, Tampa Bay made it interesting by scoring two goals: Vincent Lecavalier (Martin St. Louis, Ranger) and Paul Szczechura (Marek Malik, Andrej Meszaros). The second goal was with just 17 seconds left and it occurred when Tampa Bay had pulled Smith for the extra skater.

The Bruins won the ensuing face-off and Axelsson (1st of the season) sealed it with an empty-netter from Patrice Bergeron.

Boston goalie Tim Thomas finished with 26 saves and improved his record to 11-3-3.

Boston is now 9-0-1 in its last 10 games and they travel to Washington D.C. to face the Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and the high-flying Capitals tomorrow night.