Brayden Point wasn’t happy with his performance in Game 1.
You’d have a tough time arguing against the sophomore’s assessment. He finished with a minus-5 in a 6-2 loss, and despite having decent possession numbers in the game (52.94% CF%) against the top line of the Boston Bruins, there was no denying that Point and the rest of his line with Ondrej Palat (minus-4) and Tyler Johnson (minus-3) struggled mightily in the blowout.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper tried to soften the blow following the game, but flawed stat or not, it never looks good when it’s that high.
Fast forward two days, then, and the redemption for Point and Co. must have tasted so sweet.
Point is just the third player in @TBLightning franchise history to collect at least four points in the playoffs:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 1, 2018
Tyler Johnson (2-2—4 in Game 2 of the 2016 FR vs. DET) and Vincent Lecavalier (1-3—4 in Game 2 of the 2011 CF at BOS). #NHLStats #BOSvsTBL #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Z8ssDRyZkZ
Point’s line combined for seven points in a 4-2 win against the Bruins to even the best-of-7 series 1-1 and Point was the focal point of the offensive surge, grabbing a goal and three assists for the first four-point night of his young NHL career.
Palat chipped in with a goal and an assist and Johnson added the line’s third marker.
The Bruins had little luck in this game.
[NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub]
Patrice Bergeron’s line with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak were clinical in Game 1, combining for 11 points as they cruised to victory.
The Lightning had answers 48 hours later, limiting Boston’s best line to four assists on the team’s two goals.
Torey Krug’s third of the postseason in the third period to pull Boston to 3-2 kept things interesting momentarily, but Point put his final touch on the game with an empty-net goal with 24 seconds left, ensuring the split as the series shifts to Boston for Games 3 and 4.
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck