The Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing and the second round is already heating up. On Wednesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins faced off in Game 1 of their second-round series. The matchup was a battle of two of the NHL’s top teams, with the Lightning entering the game as the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the Bruins coming in as the third seed.
The game started off with a bang, as both teams traded goals in the first period. Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point opened the scoring with a power play goal, but Boston’s David Pastrnak answered back with a goal of his own shortly after. The score remained tied at 1-1 heading into the second period.
In the second period, both teams continued to battle back and forth, but it was Tampa Bay that broke through first. Victor Hedman scored on a breakaway to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead. Boston responded quickly, however, as Brad Marchand scored on a rebound to tie the game at 2-2.
The third period saw both teams continue to trade chances, but it was Tampa Bay that finally broke through. Nikita Kucherov scored on a breakaway to give the Lightning a 3-2 lead. The Bruins had a few chances to tie the game late, but Tampa Bay held on for the win.
The Lightning now have a 1-0 lead in the series, but the Bruins will be looking to even things up in Game 2 on Friday night. Both teams have plenty of offensive firepower and it should be an exciting matchup. It will be interesting to see which team can take control of this series and move one step closer to the Stanley Cup Final.
