BOSTON — If Guy Boucher has proven one thing in his first season as a head coach in the NHL, the Lightning bench boss who has befuddled opponents with his 1-3-1 scheme has made it clear he's far from dumb.
But that doesn't mean Boucher can't channel Jim Carrey's Lloyd Christmas character from Dumb and Dumber when it suits his purposes. And when Boucher scans the past history of Lightning visits to Boston in which Tampa Bay is just 4-25-6, he can't help but mimic Lloyd's optimistic "so you're telling me there's a chance" mantra.
"I know I've heard that in Boston we're four for 35 in franchise history," Boucher said after his club practiced at the Garden late Friday afternoon. "We're four wins and the rest we didn't win in here. Obviously, if we focus on that, we could have just stayed home. But I tend to think if four games were won, then we have a chance. If it's never been done before, then let's find a way to do it.
"So for me, I really watch out for stats and for a past," Boucher added. "For me it's all about today. If we have a bad day or bad period, the next period doesn't have to be like it was the first period. Everything's an opportunity."
The Bruins added to the Lightning's struggles in Boston this season with two more wins, routing Tampa Bay 8-1 on Dec. 2 and taking a 2-1 victory on March 3. The Bruins went 3-1 against the Lightning overall this year, improving their all-time mark against Tampa Bay to 43-18-9.
But the clubs have never met in the postseason before, and the Lightning are determined to make sure their first playoff encounter with the Bruins goes a little differently than their regular-season clashes.
"I just think regular season and playoffs are two different things," Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier said. "They played well against us in the regular season. They came out hard. They're a physical team. They've got a good offense. But we don't want to really put too much emphasis on the regular season. This is a new season. We're going to be ready to play tomorrow."
Fellow forward Steven Stamkos agreed.
"Yeah, I mean, you look at all the teams that have had success against the other teams in the regular season, then you come playoff time, totally different story," Stamkos said. "Pittsburgh played us pretty good. Washington dominated us a couple times. These [Boston] guys dominated us in an 8-1 game. But there's different people in the lineup now for both teams. I don't think Rolly [goalie Dwayne Roloson] played against these guys. He's been a big factor for us this year. It's totally different.
"We're not worrying about the regular season now," Stamkos added. "We're focused. We've gotten this far and want to keep going."
While Boucher may have evoked Dumb and Dumber, Stamkos seemed to be thinking of another movie. Perhaps inspired by the famous scene in Hoosiers when Gene Hackman measures the height of the basket at the state final to show it was the same as in the gym back in Hickory, Stamkos pointed out the dimensions of the Garden ice are no different than any other rink in the NHL.
"The same rink as any other rink," Stamkos said. "Obviously Tampa hasn't had success in this rink before, but that doesn't really matter now."
The Bruins are equally determined to make sure their home-ice advantage does hold true. If not, team president Cam Neely may have to reprise his role as Sea Bass and chase the Lightning all the way back to Tampa.
