The Bruins are looking to get even with the Lightning after dropping the Eastern Conference final series opener at TD Garden.
The key for Boston is making life difficult for Dwayne Roloson between the pipes, explains Douglas Flynn.
“Roloson has been great all postseason,” Flynn wrote on FOXSportsFlorida.com. “But just like every goalie at this level, he is going to stop everything he sees. The Bruins have to create more traffic in front of him. They need screens, tips and deflections in front, and players in position to bang in rebounds.
“Tyler Seguin‘s showstopper [in Game 1] aside, the Bruins aren’t the type of team that scores a lot of highlight-reel goals on pretty rushes and slick one-on-one moves. They get a lot of what Brad Marchand likes to call “greasy goals” — strikes from in close that come more from hard work and determination than pure skill.
“They have to get bodies to the net if they want to put pucks in the net. Even without Patrice Bergeron, who may play in Game 2 but that seems unlikely at this point, the Bruins have plenty of players capable of generating traffic. They need Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton to use their size and strength to set up shop in front. Mark Recchi is one of the all-time greats at creating chances in tight around the net, and linemate Marchand has learned well from the master.
“That opportunism needs to be on display from Recchi and Marchand in Game 2, regardless of who is centering them. Add in some high-end skill from David Krejci and Seguin, and the Bruins have the weapons to get the goals they need. They just need to show the same commitment to doing it that they showed against Carey Price and Philadelphia’s rotating cast of netminders.”
See the rest of what Douglas Flynn had to say about Game 2 of the Bruins-Lightning conference final by clicking here.
