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Bruins outlast Tampa, even series

May 18, 2011 - 6:36 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Tyler Seguin recorded a career-best four points with two goals and two assists, as the Boston Bruins tallied five times in the second period then held on to post a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of this Eastern Conference final from TD Garden.

Michael Ryder notched two goals and a helper, while Nathan Horton added a goal and two assists for the Bruins, who responded well after dropping a 5-2 decision in Game 1 on Saturday.

Tim Thomas picked up the win despite allowing a postseason-high five goals on 41 shots.

Vincent Lecavalier tallied a goal and three assists for the Lightning, while Dwayne Roloson was lit up in the loss for six goals on 27 shots through two periods. Mike Smith halted all eight shots he faced in the third.

Adam Hall, Steven Stamkos, Dominic Moore and Martin St. Louis also scored, but Tampa Bay's eight-game win streak came to an end.

Game 3 shifts back to Florida on Thursday.

Seguin split two defenders and lifted a backhander over Roloson 48 seconds into the second period, then David Krejci tipped in a Dennis Seidenberg dish at 2:24 to put the home team ahead 3-2.

Thomas stoned Ryan Malone on a clear breakaway just after the six-minute mark, and on the next Boston rush, Seguin ripped a shot under the crossbar to finish off a 2-on-1 break at 6:30 for a 4-2 Bruins lead.

"He was extremely good tonight, no doubt about that," said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. "One of our best players out there and he used his speed very well tonight. He challenged their [defensemen] with it."

Lecavalier then beat Thomas through the pads from the right circle on a power play at 7:48 to bring the visitors within one, but Ryder's backhander on a Bruins advantage restored their two-goal margin with 3:44 left.

Ryder converted a Chris Kelly rebound with 18.9 ticks on the clock and Boston took a 6-3 lead to intermission.

Stamkos pulled the Bolts within two at 3:47 of the third with a quick wrister inside the left post, then Moore pushed the puck through a goalmouth scramble with 6:45 remaining for a 6-5 contest.

Smith was pulled for an extra skater with 1:11 to play, and the Lightning swarmed around the Bruins net until Thomas smothered a St. Louis shot with 27 seconds left. It was the last quality chance for the visitors, who lost what Lightning head coach Guy Boucher called a "pond hockey game."

"It's your breakaway, it's my breakaway, it's your 2-on-1, it's my 2-on-1," Boucher said. "It might be exciting for the fans, but from the team's perspective and standpoint, it's not how we've played. When the other team's that hungry, you can't let that happen, and we did."

Tampa Bay needed only 13 seconds after the opening faceoff to take the lead, as a deflected Lecavalier shot bounced off the back boards and out to Hall, who banked the puck off Thomas from the left side.

Roloson stoned Milan Lucic in close on a Bruins power play with eight minutes left in the first, then flashed his right pad to stop Mark Recchi on the doorstep seconds later after the B's were awarded a 5-on-3.

Boston kept up the pressure in the offensive zone and it paid off with one second left on the tail-end of the advantage, as Horton tipped in a Seidenberg shot with 6:02 remaining.

The Bolts took a 2-1 edge with 6.5 seconds showing, when Stamkos' spinning backhander in the right circle was tipped home by St. Louis.

Game Notes

Seguin became just the third teenager in NHL history to post a multi-goal playoff game, after Dainius Zubrus of Philadelphia in 1997 and Jordan Staal of Pittsburgh in 2008...Until the start of this series, Seguin hadn't played since a season-ending loss at New Jersey on April 10...He now has three goals and three assists in two games...Seguin's previous high was two points, accomplished three times in the regular season...The last time a road team won the first two games in the East finals, happened when Ottawa took two in a row at Buffalo in 2007...The 11 combined goals were the highest total in one Boston playoff game since a 6-5 overtime win at New Jersey on May 3, 1994 in Game 2 of an East semifinal...It was the most total scores in a Tampa Bay playoff contest since an 8-4 loss to Ottawa on April 25, 2006 in Game 3 of an Eastern quarterfinal.