Search Weight Loss Topics:

Home » Testosterone » The Bruins get tough, and the Lightning get a runaway victory – Tampa Bay Times

Hoo boy, these guys are tough. Weve heard that over and over again.

Dirt underneath their fingernails, coach Jon Cooper said after Game 2. Sandpaper with skill, he said another time. With Zach Bogosian, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow joining Yanni Gourde, Erik Cernak and Anthony Cirelli, the Lightning had their own version of a Brute Squad.

They werent going to be pushed around any longer. They werent going to let a meaner team manhandle them in the playoffs. The Lightning were bigger and more physical than theyve been in years.

So who knew the Brutes have got some brains, too?

Boston decided to turn up the testosterone in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday night, and the Lightning opted not to fight back. Instead, Tampa Bay beat the snot out of the Bruins on the scoreboard, winning 7-1 and taking a 2-games-to-1 lead in the series.

Only once in their first seven playoff games had the Lightning finished a night with more power plays than their opponent. In Game 3, Tampa Bay was 3-of-6 and Boston was 1-of-3.

I dont know what we ended up with in power plays tonight, but thats probably cumulative what weve had in the five prior games put together, Cooper said. You need special teams and points to win the game for you, but in the end its what you keep out of your net and not always what you put in their net, and weve been keeping the puck out.

Remember Muhammad Alis rope-a-dope strategy against George Foreman? This was more like cope-a-dope.

It started halfway through the first period when Brandon Carlo hit Cirelli near the boards and then dropped his gloves when Cirelli objected. This is almost like a playground taunt, impossible to ignore. Except Cirelli kept his cool and refused to engage.

Theres probably already a Twitter GIF of Cirelli, 23, looking sheepishly at his tormentor, but the Lightning cannot afford to get into a tit-for-tat penalty game against a team with superb special teams. It was, in some ways, an unselfish and savvy move by a young player.

A few minutes later, Nick Ritchie put Kevin Shattenkirk into the boards and then needlessly slashed him afterward for a penalty. Twenty-nine seconds later, the Lightning scored their first power play goal in seven games.

Later, Patrice Bergeron hits Ondrej Palat in the face with a stick. Penalty goal.

Charlie McAvoy hits Nikita Kucherov in the back of the head. Penalty goal.

We lost our composure at times and didnt do enough to get back in the game, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. Youve got to bear down and win the start of the second period and we werent able to do that. And they took full advantage of the opportunities given them.

This has been part of Tampa Bays new mantra: Do not allow the other team to dictate what you do.

The Lightning added those beefier players not to audition for Fight Club but to make sure they would not be knocked off their game by a more physical team. To make sure they could stand in front of the net at crunch time. Essentially, to make sure they could be prepared for whatever any other team threw at them.

Tampa Bay may not have the tightest defense in the postseason, but they are capable of holding a team to two goals most nights if they play smart and disciplined and dont surrender too many rushes or penalties.

Three games into this series, now the Bruins know it too.

The big thing coming into back-to-back games, especially in the playoffs, is which team is going to get to their game first and play their style of hockey and overtake the game. We certainly did that, Shattenkirk said. They came out physical, changing that aspect of their game a little bit. We weathered the storm and we stuck with our game. (When) we get up by a few goals, we dont change our game.

John Romano can be reached at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.

Read more:
The Bruins get tough, and the Lightning get a runaway victory - Tampa Bay Times

Your Full Name
Your Email
Your Phone Number
Select your age (30+ only)	30313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120
Select Your US State	Select Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington,DCWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Program Choice	Select Your ProgramInjectable HGHInjectable TestoteroneInjectable SermorelinInjectable Weight LossInjectable HCG DietInjectable Vitamins
Confirm over 30 years old	Yes
Confirm that you resident in USA	Yes
This is a Serious Inquiry	Yes
Message:

Home » Testosterone » The Bruins get tough, and the Lightning get a runaway victory – Tampa Bay Times