Bruins earn second straight road win in Florida
February 21, 2013; Tampa FL, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Nathan Horton (18) attempts to shoot as Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Benoit Pouliot (67) defends during the third period at Tampa Times Forum. The Bruins won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins have racked up their second straight win tonight on the road beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. It was another game where the Bruins played to their strengths, and in doing so shut down the league’s most explosive scorers.
Nathan Horton came within two ringed posts of a hat trick last night. The man that kept us alive through the 2011 season showed the form that gave us so many clutch goals in the past. “He was good tonight,” Julien said. “That’s what you want to see more from him, is that powerful winger. He’s one of the elite right wingers in the league when he’s on top of his game. He’s got so much potential, and we know that. He’s been through some tough times with that concussion, and hopefully we get him back healthy and get some consistency out of his game because he certainly deserves it.” With his twenty six goals and twenty assists, he is to the Tampa Bay Lightning, what Thomas Vanek is to us.
Patrice Bergeron scored as well in the first period, giving the Bruins an early 2-0 lead. The Lightning did fire back though. A goal by Steven Stamkos in the first and then Conacher in the second tied the game back up to 2-2. The Bruins however shut the door on their offense from that point on. Tuukka Rask stopped twenty four of twenty six, keeping his two goals a game average intact, and his save percentage at a comfortable .919.
Brad Marchand put the Bruins ahead for good when Marchand’s got one in from the slot with six minutes left in the second. This season the instigating, slightly bratty young player has ‘grown up’ The ‘Little Ball of Hate’ is not just a dependable two way player who can out muscle people a foot taller than him. He has become our leading scorer putting in his ninth goal for the season. His nine goals on twenty shots makes him one of the best snipers in the National Hockey League this season.
”We wanted to make sure that we got the first one tonight and try to quiet the crowd down a bit,” Marchand said. ”Luckily, we got two. We kind of saved ourselves a little bit of trouble after they came back.”
The Bruins stay on the road with another game in Florida, this time against the Panthers on Sunday.