Boston ‘s Brad Marchand, center, David Pastrnak, left, and and Patrice Bergeron combined to score the eventual game-winning goal in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Tampa Bay. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP
It’s the kind of line that makes teams pay for their mistakes, and Boston’s David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron put that ability on display in a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday in Game 1 of their conference semifinal.
As Boston’s top line demonstrated Sunday night, a simple turnover can be the difference in the game.
And if the line continues to play the way it did in that game, Tampa Bay could have an issue on its hands.
Early in the third period, Marchand carried the puck along the right-side boards before Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak met him behind the Tampa Bay net. After the puck came loose, Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh swept it up and began to make his way out from behind the net. But Bergeron wasn’t letting him out of the zone so easily.
Bergeron swiped the puck from McDonagh and quickly found Pastrnak in the slot. He backhanded a pass to Marchand on the right side of the crease. Marchand one-timed the puck past goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to give Boston a 3-0 lead.
After Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman scored twice in the third period, Marchand’s goal became the game-winner.
“He has a gift that the way he reads the game and his stick positioning and his ability to read plays, there’s just very few guys in the league that have that ability on the defensive side of things,” Marchand said of Bergeron.
“Lots of guys are good offensively and can cheat and pick pucks off. He does it from a defensive standpoint. He creates so many opportunities out of our zone, through the neutral zone and on the forecheck, the way he did where he’s picking pucks and lifting sticks.”
Lightning Coach Jon Cooper said Boston’s top line makes “big-time plays at high rates of speed.”
“If you let up for a second, they’re going to get you, because they compete really hard, they never give up on plays and, so clearly, that’s what happened there,” Cooper said.
While Cooper thought his team controlled Boston’s top line at times, there were moments where it didn’t.
“There’s a reason they’ve been one of the best lines in hockey for a while,” Cooper added, “and they proved it (Sunday).”
At least one of the three players recorded at least a point in all but six games this season. When two of the players went pointless, the team went 2-6. When all three were kept off the scoresheet, the Bruins were 3-3.
“They don’t quit on plays,” Bruins Coach Bruce Cassidy said. “(The) third goal is a great example of that. … You typically aren’t going to advance if your best players aren’t your best players, and you know the second period they weren’t as strong on the puck as they were early on, But they got it back. And again, full value, their line carried us.”
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