TAMPA, Fla. – Tim Thomas rebounded from two tough games in grand fashion Thursday night.
Thomas made 31 saves for his first playoff shutout this season and second overall, Andrew Ference and David Krejci scored, and the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
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“That felt more like a normal game,” Thomas said. “That felt like the game we played most of the season. Playoffs are always faster, and more energy and a few more scoring chances than a regular-season game, but that was Boston Bruins hockey.”
Thomas, the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy as the top regular-season goalie, gave up nine goals in the first two games of the series.
“As the game goes on, he keeps making saves, feels better about himself and is gaining confidence,” Lightning right winger Martin St. Louis said. “We’ve just got to make his game a little tougher and we didn’t do that. Chew on it for 10 minutes and get back to work.”
Ference made it 2-0 with a shot from the point at 8:12 of the third when the puck trickled between goalie Dwayne Roloson’s legs and into the net.
Game 4 will be Saturday at Tampa Bay.
Patrice Bergeron returned to Boston’s lineup after missing two games because of a concussion sustained when he was hit by Claude Giroux of Philadelphia in the final game of the second round. He had two shots, won 18 of 28 faceoffs and played 19 minutes, 13 seconds.
“You could see the difference he makes,” Bruins Coach Claude Julien said.
Krejci was alone in the low slot and opened the scoring on a backhander just 1:09 into the first. Boston is 7-0 during the postseason when scoring the first goal of the game.
“One big mistake,” Lightning Coach Guy Boucher said.
Krejci was briefly shaken up late in the first when he was hit in the neutral zone by Tampa Bay defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron, who received a minor penalty for elbowing.
Both teams were looking to play tighter defense after combining for 18 goals in the first two games.
Tampa Bay center Steven Stamkos said before the game that the Lightning wanted to avoid “run-and-gun hockey.” Boston center Brad Marchand added that both teams hoped to “buckle down” on defense.
Stamkos had three shots as the Lightning outshot Boston 10-8 in the first. Zdeno Chara of Boston made a nice defensive play during the period to break up a Tampa Bay two-on-one.
“We got some chances and their goalie made some good saves,” Stamkos said. “We’re not panicking. We’ve got to be ready for the next one.”
Thomas made a strong save in the first on St. Louis’ shot from the low right circle. Thomas stopped 15 shots in the third.
Roloson ended with 23 saves.
“Both goalies made huge saves,” Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said. “This just felt more normal. I think both teams got more towards the type of game they wanted. I think it was a lot more typical and expected from us.”
NOTES: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman attended the game. Krejci has six goals and 11 points over his last seven games.
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