The series now shifts to Tampa for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Thursday.
Third Period, 16:09, Bruins 6-5: Thomas comes up with a huge stop, robbing Marc-Andre Bergeron as Thomas is falling and Bergeron fired in a rebound from the left circle.
Third Period, 15:36, Bruins 6-5: The Bruins can't convert that power-play chance, and now will try to hold on to their one-goal lead for the final 4:24 of this one.
Third Period, 13:36, Bruins 6-5: The Bruins will get a power play after another collision in front, as Ryan Malone is sent off for goalie interference.
Third Period, 13:15, Bruins 6-5: The Lightning have pulled within a goal with a controversial score.
The puck initially clanged off both posts on a shot from the point. Sean Bergenheim had a shot at the rebound with a wide open net, but couldn't corral it. Thomas then had his mask knocked off in a scrum in front. That should have ended the play, but it was allowed to continue and Dominic Moore eventually banged it in from the top of the crease.
Third Period, 12:39, Bruins 6-4: Claude Julien uses his timeout to settle down the Bruins. They can't afford any more penalties with how dangerous the Lightning are on the power play a they try to close out this win.
Third Period, 12:07, Bruins 6-4: The Bruins didn't so much kill that penalty as survve it, including a stretch when Johnny Boychuk was without a stick, but the result is the same. The Bruins are back at full strength and still lead by two goals with under eight minutes to play.
Third Period, 10:07, Bruins 6-4: The Bruins face another big penalty kill as Nathan Horton is sent off for elbowing.
That came after Thomas made another huge save, robbing Lecavalier in front after a Bruins turnover deep in their zone.
Third Period, 8:39, Bruins 6-4: The hitting is picking up, with Mattias Ohlund going for a big shot on Mark Recchi, but the veteran braced himself. Recchi lost his helmet, but Ohlund got the worst of the exchange as he was sent flying.
Third Period, 8:02, Bruins 6-4: Thomas with an important stop on Stamkos at the top of the crease. The Bruins have been sitting back a bit too much here in the third. The Lightning have the firepower to come back in a hurry, so the Bruins can't get away from the way they played in the first two periods.
Third Period, 6:35, Bruins 6-4: Tempers are getting a little short with Shawn Thornton taking exception to a late hit by Sean Bergenheim and Gregory Campbell and Steve Downie having words, but nothng further develops and no penalties are called.
Third Period, 3:47, Bruins 6-4: The Lightning aren't going to go away quietly, as Steven Stamkos pulls Tampa within two.
After a turnover in the neutral zone, Johnny Boychuk had a chance at the puck, but backed off and allowed Stamkos to collect it at the blue line and lead the rush down the left side. He fired in a shot from the circle for the goal.
Third Period, 2:32, Bruins 6-3: The Bruins can't convert that power-play chance, though the first unit did create some chances early in the man-advantage.
Third Period, 0:32, Bruins 6-3: The Bruins get an early power play in the third, as Dominic Moore is sent off for interference.
Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 6-3: The final frame is under way here at the Garden, where the Bruins are looking to close out a Game 2 win and even this series.
Mike Smith has replaced Dwayne Roloson in goal for the Lightning.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins couldn't ask for much more out of a period than that one, with rookie Tyler Seguin leading the charge. Seguin has four points on the night with two goals and two assists and is a plus-3 in 8:28.
He's far from alone on the scoresheet however, with Michael Ryder chipping in two goals and an assist and Nathan Horton filling the sheet with a goal, two assists and six hits. the Bruins have a 24-15 edge in hits and are still winning the faceoff battle 28-19 (60 percent). Rich Peverley leads the way there at 12-4.
Dennis Seidenberg and the much-maligned Tomas Kaberle each have two assists and the Bruins have scored two power-play goals in a game for the first time since March 27 against the Flyers. Boston has just a 27-26 advantage in shots, but scored five goals on nine shots in the second.
This one isn't over though, as the Lightning are capable of striking quick. The Bruins will look to keep the pressure on and close this one out in style in the third.
End Second Period, Bruins 6-3: In about as dominant a period as the Bruins have played this postseason, Boston breaks loose with five goals in the second to take a 6-3 lead into the final frame.
Second Period, 19:41, Bruins 6-3: The Bruins strike in the final minute this time, as Michael Ryder adds another with a rebound in frnt of the net.
Chris Kelly had the initial shot from the slot off a pass from Tyler Seguin, who adds another assist to his tally.
Second Period, 16:16, Bruins 5-3: The Tyler Seguin Show continues. The rookie gets a huge round of applause when he comes out on the second power-play unit, and he quickly responds.
Seguin tees up a one-timer from the top of the left circle. Roloson makes the save, but Michael Ryder pounces on the rebound at the left post and flips it in with a backhander.
Second Period, 15:04, Bruins 4-3: The Lightning will now be shorthanded, as Vincent Lecavalier is called for hooking, giving the Bruins another chance on the power play.
Second Period, 13:30, Bruins 4-3: The Lightning threaten again with a 2 on 1 down low. Stamkos' pass in front is deflected by Andrew Ference just over the net. That would have been a tough one to take if it had gone in off Ference.
Second Period, 12:18, Bruins 4-3: The Bruins are able to kill that penalty off to stay in front by a goal. Solid work by Adam McQuaid filling in on the PK with Chara in the box.
Second Period, 10:18, Bruins 4-3: The Bruins have another penalty to kill off, and they'll have to do it without their captain as Zdeno Chara is called for tripping up Steven Stamkos along the boards.
Second Period, 7:29, Bruins 4-3: That didn't take long, as Vincent Lecavalier scores on the power play to pull the Lightning back within a goal.
Lecavalier fired in a shot from the top of the right circle through a screen.
Second Period, 7:29, Bruins 4-2: The Bruins will face a big penalty kill here as they try tomaintain their lead with Mark Recchi in the box for cross-checking.
Second Period, 6:30, Bruins 4-2: Mark 6:08 down as maybe the biggest moment of this game, as Ryan Malone breaks in on a clean breakaway for the Lightning, only to have his backhander turned aside by Tim Thomas.
Just 22 seconds later, the Bruins counterattacked with Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin breaking in on a 2 on 1. Horton fed Seguin on the right side, and the rookie scored yet another goal with a wrister inside the near post to extend the lead to two goals.
Second Period, 5:11, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins are keeping up the pressure, with another strong shift by Horton. He finished three big hits, then had a chance from the high slot from Krejci, but sent the shot wide.
Second Period, 2:24, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins have their first lead of the series as the Garden explodes on a score by David Krejci.
Krejci finished off a backdoor cut when he tipped in a feed from Dennis Seidenberg behind Roloson at the left post. Horton also picks up an assist on the play.
Second Period, 0:48, 2-2: The Bruins tie it again, on another highlight-reel goal by Tyler Seguin.
The rookie gains speed through the neutral zone, splits the defense and breaks in alone, finishing the rush with a nasty backhand move for his second goal in as many games.
Second Period, 0:21, Lightning 2-1: The Lightning nearly strike early again as St. Louis bursts in down the middle, but Thomas makes the save.
Second Period, 0:00, Lightning 2-1: The middle frame is under way here at the Garden, as the Bruins look to bounce back from that late Lightning goal in the first.
First Intermission Notes: For about 19 minutes and 40 seconds, the Bruins did everything they wanted to in the opening fame of this one. They dominated play, created chances, delivered some big hits and even converted a power play. But those other 20 seconds proved oh so costly, as the Lightning scored on the game's first shot 13 seconds into play and pulled back ahead with 6.5 seconds left to take a 2-1 lead into the break.
That last goal was especially deflating, as the Bruins had rallied back from the setback in the opening seconds and controlled play the rest of the way. They had all the momentum, but will now have to dig out of another hole to start the second.
Boston had an 18-11 edge in shots and attempted 34 shots to just 14 by Tampa. The Lightning did hold an 8-2 advantage in blocked shots, while the Bruins outhit them 13-7 and even won the faceoff battle 15-9 (63 percent), an area of great concern after their poor performance on draws in Game 1. Rich Peverley was 6-1 on draws and Tyler Seguin 2-0. He played just 2:53 on four shifts with only four seconds of power-play time.
Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton have come up big on the top line, with Lucic shipping in four shots and Horton scoring Boston's goal and adding three hits and a shot. The Bruins need more of that, and have to put the frustration of that late goal behind him and continue playing as they did for the bulk of that first period.
End First Period, Lightning 2-1: The Bruins dominated most of the period, but the Lightning come away with the lead on goals in the opening and closing seconds of the frame.
First Period, 19:53, Lightning 2-1: The Lightning strike again in the closing seconds as Steven Stamkos drives down the right side, spins and flips a backhander toward the net that deflects off Martin St. Louis in front.
First Period, 19:03, 1-1: The Bruins exerting some physical force on the PK as Ference blasts Steve Downie with a huge hit. Downie and Chara later get tangled up in a scrum and both are sent off for two minutes despite Downie throwing an extra shot late to the back of Chara's head. Downie gets a roughing minor, Chara unsportsmanlike conduct.
First Period, 17:16, 1-1: The Bruins will be shorthanded for the first time in this one, as Nathan Horton is called for interference in the offensive zone.
First Period, 16:22, 1-1: The Bruins are outshooting Tampa 16-6 so far, but Roloson has kept it a tie game despite Boston's territorial dominance.
Just when it seemed like the crowd couldn't get any louder, Bill Belichick is shown in the stands to even more cheers.
First Period, 13:58, 1-1: The Bruins couldn't convert on the two-man advantage, but Nathan Horton does tie it with one second left on the end of the second power play.
Horton tipped in a blast Dennis Seidenberg one-timed from Tomas Kaberle from the right point just inside the far post seconds after misfiring on a similar attempt.
First Period, 11:59, Lightning 1-0: The Bruins will get a 5-on-3 advantage for the next 1:22 as Adam Hall is sent off for roughing. Even the Bruins' power play can score with a two-man advantage for that long, right?
First Period, 11:20, Lightning 1-0: The Bruins continue to pressure, with Adam McQuaid jumping up into the play for a shot that went wide, then Mark Recchi is denied by Roloson when he one-timed the rebound off the end boards from the left wing.
But the Bruins do get another power play out of the sequence, with Malone again going off, this time for interference.
Marc Savard is in the building for this one, and was just shown on the jumbotron to a huge reception during teh TV timeout. maybe hust his precence will get the Bruins' power play going.
First Period, 8:32, Lightning 1-0: The Bruins came up empty again, but did get some decent chances from the second unit, including a testing bid from the slot by Michael Ryder. Tyler Seguin did not see any time on that power-play chance.
First Period, 6:32, Lightning 1-0: The Bruins will get the first power-play chance of the night as Ryan Malone is sent off for elbowing Dennis Seidenberg. Boston is just 2 for 41 on the man-advantage this postseason.
First Period, 5:52, Lightning 1-0: Lots of pressure from the Bruins, starting with Dennis Seidenberg with a point blast and Rich Peverley cutting in front for a bid during the 4 on 4, and continuing with multiple chances 5 on 5 that lead to a Tampa icing and a Guy Boucher timeout to settle his troops.
First Period, 2:31, Lightning 1-0: Some nastiness here as Andrew Ference puts a shot on Roloson, then follows with a snow shower in front on the Tampa goalie. That leads to a brief scrum, with Ference and Victor Hedman each getting roughing minors to make it 4 on 4 for the next two minutes.
First Period, 0:13, Lightning 1-0: So much for the Bruins grabbing an early lead, as the Lightning strike on the game's first shot just 13 seconds into play.
Vincent Lecavalier fired a shot wide, but the puck came off teh end boards right to Adam Hall, who flipped in a backhander at the left post.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: With the pre-game ceremonies over after Johnny Bucyk started the Bruins flag on its tour of the stands and Rene Rancourt belted out the anthem, Game 2 is under way here at the Garden with the Bruins looking to even this series at a game apiece.
8 p.m.: The Bruins will open with their second line starting as usual, but this time it's Rich Peverley between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi. Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk start on defense, with Tim Thomas in goal.
The Lightning counter with Nate Thompson, Vincent Lecavalier and Adam Hall up front, Eric Brewer and Mattias Ohlund on the blue line and Dwayne Roloson in net.
7:52 p.m.: Patrice Bergeron is officially out again for the Bruins as he recovers from his latest concussion, while Shane Hnidy and the Black Aces remain the healthy scratches.
The Lightning have defenseman Pavel Kubina (head) and forward Dana Tyrell (foot) still out, along with healthy scratches Blair Jones, Matt Samaby, Mathieu Roy, Mattias Ritola, Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Mike Angelidis. Tampa will go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen again as it did in Game 1.
7:50 p.m.: Have a question about the game? NESN analyst Andy Brickley will answer a fan's question during every Bruins playoff game this spring.
Send your questions in for Game 2 against the Lightning to Ask Brick here.
7:45 p.m.: With Patrice Bergeron again out, the Bruins skated in warm-ups with the same line combinations used in practice Monday, with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley switching lines from Game 1's alignment.
Here's the full line combinations from warm-ups:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Peverley-Recchi
Ryder-Kelly-Seguin
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Defense pairs:
Chara-Seidenberg
Kaberle-McQuaid
Ference-Boychuk
Shane Hnidy was also on the ice for warm-ups as usual, but not in the line drills. He'll be a healthy scratch again in this one.
7:30 p.m.: No surprise, but Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson lead the clubs onto the ice for warm-ups. That will be the goaltending matchup again in this one.
Patrice Bergeron is not on the ice for the Bruins in warm-ups. It appears he will indeed miss his second straight game as he continues to recover from the concussion he suffered against Philadelphia.
7:15 p.m.: The Bruins and Lightning will clash in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final in just under an hour.
It will be a key game for the Bruins, who can't afford to go down 3-0 in the series before it shifts to Tampa for Games 3 and 4.
8 a.m.: The Bruins' first appearance in a conference final in 19 years didn't start the way they had planned.
The Lightning struck for three goals in an 85-second span midway through the first period en route to a 5-2 victory in Game 1 on Saturday. Now the Bruins need to even the series in Game 2 at the Garden on Tuesday or face the prospect of heading to Tampa Bay in a two-game hole.
The Bruins rallied after dropping the first two games at home against Montreal in the opening round, but they don't want to have to try to repeat that feat again in the Eastern Conference Final against a much tougher Tampa Bay team.
"We need to get back to the way we played the game successfully against Montreal and against Philly," Bruins goalie Tim Thomas said. "Game 1 here was kind of like Games 1 and 2 against Montreal. We need to make the adjustments and turn our game around now though, not wait for two games like we did against Montreal."
The Bruins are concerned mainly with their own game, which fell well short of their usual standards in Game 1, when a series of defensive breakdowns led to those three early goals. The Bruins respect what the Lightning are capable of, but are also confident that if they play up to their own capabilities, they can prevail over Tampa.
"I think right now it's so important we really focus on our game, and for some reason everybody seems to think that we have to adjust to them," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We don't believe that. We have our game. We have our team. We've gotten this far. We believe in what we do.
"And we've got to keep our focus on what we have to do here," Julien added. "And that's basically it. So whatever they want to do, those are their decisions. From our end of it we've just got to stay sharp and put the right players on the ice."
Ideally, one of those players would be Patrice Bergeron, who led the Bruins with 12 points through the first two rounds and is one of their top performers in every aspect of the game. Bergeron missed Game 1 with a concussion suffered in the final game of Boston's second-round sweep of Philadelphia. He did return to practice on Monday, but a timetable for his return to game action remains uncertain.
The puck drops at 8 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action from the Garden.
