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Turnovers and Patrice Bergeron’s two goals give Boston a 3-0 lead after one period

Patrice Bergeron

With Tampa Bay coming into today’s Game 4 trailing 2-1 in the series, they needed to come out with a jump. They did that for about the first five minutes before the turnovers started and changed the pace of the game.

Hedman would try to reverse the flow of play back to defensive partner Brett Clark, only Clark couldn’t handle the pass and Patrice Bergeron would score off the turnover to make it 1-0. Five minutes later, another turnover would lead to a Bruins 2-on-1 that saw Michael Ryder attempt a shot that bounced off of Mike Lundin’s stick and past Roloson to make it 2-0.

Nearly two minutes later, the Lightning would go on the power play with a chance to swing the momentum of the game and get back into things. That wouldn’t go according to plan, however, as Steve Stamkos turned the puck over to Patrice Bergeron who then ripped a shot through the five hole of Roloson to make it 3-0. That would be the end of the game for Roloson as coach Guy Boucher pulled him in favor of Mike Smith. Roloson would finish the game making six saves on nine shots.

Bergeron’s two goals get him back into the saddle as the Bruins’ leading man when it comes to scoring and seeing him do it both at even strength and shorthanded proves what his worth is to the team. The fact that the Bruins are dominating play right now while the Lightning continue to flub the puck speaks a lot to the pressure the Bruins are applying to the game.

The period wouldn’t end quietly, however, as a scrum erupted as time ran out that saw an odd fight between Marc-Andre Bergeron and Rich Peverley break out. Tampa agitating forward Steve Downie would pick up a minor for roughing and a ten-minute misconduct. The Bruins starting the second on the power play, even despite their struggles, is not the way the Lightning want to start off.

Tim Thomas was again strong in goal stopping all ten shots he saw. He also wasn’t about to take any guff from Lightning players crashing his net.