Boston Bruins: Round Three Game One (Lightning)

     In my last Bruins post I mentioned a couple things that worried me about this series, one, that the Bruins might have a problem getting up for Tampa, two, that the loss of Patrice Bergeron might be to big a loss to overcome.  The emotion last night didn't seem to be much of a problem.  The Bruins came out of the gate hard and looked like they were going to be a force.  It could be argued the three goals Tampa scored in 1:30 was due to rust from not playing for over a week, but the Lightning sat for two days longer and they looked fine.  No, the bigger problem was the lack of Bergeron in the line-up.  Without his presence the Bruins are too weak up the middle, they lose a player who plays exceptionally well in both ends, something essential when playing an offensive force like Tampa.  The HuLK line looked great and was flying all over the ice, but after that the Bruins didn't have much to show.  No Bergeron to center the second (or first line depending how you look at it) leaves the Bruins with a huge gap between the talent level of their first and second lines, a gap that the Lightning will be able to take advantage of.  And let's not forget the importance of Bergeron's ability to win face-offs, an extremely important part of the game that tends to get over looked.
     The way Tampa played reminded me a lot of the Canadians.  They jumped to an early lead and then shut down the Bruins with a trap the rest of the night.  The problem is Tampa has more offensive talent then Montreal.  If there were any good signs from last night it was that Tampa doesn't seem to be able to shut down the HuLK line like Montreal did.  Even though they didn't have any points, that line was all over the ice, playing physical and putting the only consistent pressure on the Lightning all night.  Other bright points were Seguin, who got two points in his first playoff game and looked very solid, and Johnny Boychuck, who was a physical force all night.
     If the Bruins are going to win this series without Bergeron, they are going to have to avoid mental lapses and stupid mistakes like the 1:30 Tampa scored three goals.  Without that lapse the Bruins win the game.  The first goal is hard to fault.  Seideneberg lost his stick and there wasn't much else he could have done with the puck, it was just unfortunate, but everything after that was fixable.  The second goal was a soft one given up by Thomas, someone who is hard to blame with all the magnificent saves he makes, but was at fault none the less.  You can't make the impossible saves and then let that one in.  The third goal was easily Kaberle's fault.  I'm not sure what the Bruins thought they were getting in this trade, but it's panning out to be horrible.  Kaberle has done nothing to help the team and most times looks lost on the ice.  Maybe, now that he's healthy, it's time to give Steve Kempfer a shot and sit Kaberle.
     It's still early, the Bruins were down 2-0 in the first round, but there is going to have to be some changes if the Bruins are going to pull this out.  Losing Bergeron is huge and hard to replace, but I think the team has the talent to hang in there, draw this series out and maybe give him an opportunity to get back on the ice this season.  One game isn't the end, but now it's time to tighten the boot straps and get the job done.