They scored and scored, then they scored again. The goals rained down like a storm on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first period as the team with the weakest offense in the NHL, the Boston Bruins, built a 5-0 lead on the home team.
To their credit, the Lightning came roaring back, scoring the next four goals to give a little drama to the end of this one, but by triple zeros they fell one goal too short.
It was a stunning end to the hot streak of Antero Niittymaki and the Bolts, winners of four straight. Tampa Bay seemed to lose steam after out shooting the Bruins 7-0 in the first five minutes of the contest and then watched as the Bruins peppered Niittymaki with 21 shots, most of them terrific scoring chances.
None of the goals given up by the Bolts net minder were his fault, each resulting in terrific passing plays by Boston and poor defense on the Lightning's part.
After Tuesday night's 3-1 win over Vancouver, coach Rick Tocchet described Tampa Bay's play as putting a finger in the dike and hoping it didn't burst. Well, the dam certainly broke for the Bolts in this one.
"The first seven minutes, I thought we were playi ...
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Article written by JC De La Torre
Tampa Bay Lightning’s Dam Breaks Against the Boston Bruins
February 12th, 2010 by JC De La Torre Leave a reply »
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