That’s exactly what the B’s will attempt to do, though, as they have headed back to Tampa for Game 6, looking to put away the pesky Lightning for good.
For the Bruins to wrap things up on Wednesday, they’re going to need to have one of, if not, their best game of the entire year. That’s what they’ll likely be getting from the Lightning. A performance like the Bruins gave in Game 5, the series will come back to Boston for a Game 7.
The Bruins will likely have to follow the script they started to write in Game 4 in Tampa. After taking Game 3 down in Florida, the B’s raced out to a 3-0 lead. Every part of the game was clicking.
The B’s outworked the Lightning early on. Boston generated all of the offensive chances, and they looked in-sync. After struggling to generate many chances in Game 5 in Boston, the Bruins will surely look to be sharper on the offensive end in Game 6.
They’ll need to clamp down on defense, too, in order to prevent another meltdown like they had after building that three-goal lead in Game 4. Of course, there’s a fine line between being stingy on defense and becoming too conservative, a line they toed during the third period in Game 5.
Of course, it will help to have Tim Thomas at his best again on Wednesday. Thomas stole Game 5 on Monday with what many will call the save of the playoffs, no matter what happens to the Bruins in the coming days and weeks. Thomas has shown the ability to throughout the playoffs that he can indeed steal games for the B’s, and there would be no better time to prove that again than on Wednesday night.
Finally, there’s the yin and the yang that is the Bruins’ special teams. On the penalty killing side of things, the Bruins have been outstanding. Down a man on Monday, the Boston penalty killers helped turn things around in the game, and quite possibly the series. They’ve been terrific, as they’ve held one of the game’s best power-play units to just 11.8 percent on the man-advantage.
Then there’s the Boston power play. The B’s have a pair of goals this series on the power play, but other than that, they’ve struggled mightily. Those struggles have been documented, debated and discussed from here to kingdom come, though, and any further analysis would be overkill. Simply put, they need something out of the power play, and Wednesday would be a good night to get that.
What is the biggest key for the Bruins to close out the Lightning in Game 6? Share your thoughts below.
What is the biggest key for the Bruins to close out the Lightning in Game 5?survey software
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