The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 4 and are just one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Ondrej Palat had a two-goal game and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 stops to secure a win for the Bolts. Geo and Achariya had a quick recap of the Saturday’s game [Raw Charge].
Staying out of the box has been important for the Lighting, and despite that march to the box, they did well, especially in the latter part of the third period when they needed to avoid giving the Bruins any spark after allowing the first goal. The biggest concern was also that the Lightning would turtle in the third period. Boston was winning the possession game through the first two periods at 5v5, but the Lightning were able to control the puck much more effectively in the third period, and when adjusted for score, ended up swinging the possession numbers slightly in their favor.
In a post-game conference Jon Cooper agreed with Bruce Cassidy that Yanni Gourde is a “clever“ player, also calling him “gutsy“ and revealed that Gourde didn’t hesitate a second to return to the ice after receiving a dirty hit by Nick Ritchie.
Jon Cooper called Yanni Gourde a “gutsy” player in addition to agreeing with Bruce Cassidy that he’s a “clever” player. Said they asked Gourde if he wanted to sit the rest of the game out and he responded “Not a chance, I want back in this game.” #Bolts #TBLvsBOS
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) August 29, 2020
The Lightning will have a chance to eliminate the Bruins on Monday, currently they’re 6-0 after taking a 3-1 lead in playoff series.
Tampa Bay is 6-0 all-time in a playoff series when holding a 3-1 lead. #TBLvsBOS #Bolts
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) August 29, 2020
Yesterday’s Other Results
Philadelphia Flyers 1-3 New York Islanders – Islanders lead series 2-1
Semyon Varlamov returned to the Islanders net after allowing three goals during the first period in Game 2. This time he had much better game, despite letting a goal in after Tyler Pitlick shot 15 minutes into the game, however it was not entirely his fault as James van Riemsdyk and Ivan Provorov screened the Russian goaltender.
New York responded in the second period: Matt Martin appeared alone in front of Carter Hart and beat him after Mathew Barzal’s assist from behind the net. The Islanders controlled the pace of the period and took a lead before the end of the second period. The team showed a great forecheck in the opponent’s zone which lead to Leo Komarov’s shot slipping past Carter Hart.
The Islanders scored another goal early in the third period on the power play, when Anders Lee outplayed Justin Braun in front of the net and sent the puck in. The Flyers tried to push before the end of the game, however it didn’t result in lots of high dangerous opportunities and the New York Islanders reclaimed the lead in the series.
Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 Vancouver Canucks – Golden Knights lead series 2-1
After a very disappointing performance in Game 2, the Golden Knights shut down the Canucks on Saturday night. Vancouver started pushing from the start of the game, having six shots on goal during first four minutes of the game and almost scoring on their first power play opportunity, however the Golden Knights opened the score on their second shot, when Alex Tuch capitalized on a breakaway.
Just one minutes later Zach Whitecloud scored another goal for Vegas after a shot from right circle. The Canucks pushed back heavily after allowing two goals, but didn’t manage to cut the lead, despite having a 5 on 3 power play and couple of breakaways. In the second period, the Canucks stepped back and were totally dominated by the Golden Knights allowing ten high dangerous shots against and creating zero of them at the opposite side of the rink.
Vancouver gave up another goal in the third period; this time it was Mark Stone scoring on power play with a long-distance shot and the Golden Knights took a lead back in the series thanks to 31-save shutout by Robin Lehner
Today’s Games
Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars – Stars lead series 2-1
6:00 PM ET; NBCSN, TVAS, SN360, SN1
Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Islanders – Islanders lead series 2-1
8:00 PM ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS, SN
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Vancouver Canucks – Golden Knights lead series 2-1
10:30 PM ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, SN
