Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Associated Press
BOSTON
Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists and the Boston Bruins fed off the energy of the recently promoted rookie to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-5 and tie the Eastern Conference finals at one game each on Tuesday night.
Boston earned a split at home and snapped the Lightning’s eight-game winning streak that began when they were down 3-1 to Pittsburgh in the first round. Game 3 is at Tampa Bay on Thursday.
The Bruins have won nine of 11.
The 19-year-old Seguin, the second pick in last year’s NHL draft, was benched for the first 11 playoff games because of perceived defensive shortcomings. He rejoined the lineup for the series opener, getting a goal and an assist, when Patrice Bergeron sat out because of a mild concussion.
On Tuesday, with Bergeron still sidelined, Seguin tied it at 2 just 48 seconds into the second period then made it 4-2 at 6:30. Vincent Lecavalier cut the Lightning’s deficit to 4-3 with a power-play goal at 7:48, but Seguin set up two goals by Michael Ryder that put Boston on top 6-3 entering the third.
Steven Stamkos and Dominic Moore scored in the final period for the Lightning.
Adam Hall gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead 13 seconds after the opening faceoff, the quickest goal in the team’s playoff history.