Lightning Beat Bruins 4-3 In OT To Take 3-1 Series Lead

BOSTON (AP) — Dan Girardi scored 3:18 into overtime on Friday night to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins and a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Lightning jumped ahead 2-0 for the second straight game. But this time Boston answered with three straight goals, including a short-handed score by Patrice Bergeron — his second of the game — to break a third-period tie.

Steven Stamkos tied it 3-all with seven minutes left in regulation. Girardi ended it when he got a stick on a pass from Alex Killorn that was deflected off Brian Gionta's skate in the crease.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for the Lightning, who will have a chance to clinch it at home on Sunday.

Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots for the Bruins.

Two nights after scoring twice in the first 3:19 for a lead they would never relinquish, the Lightning again opened a 2-0 lead. Brayden Point scored about five minutes in when he split defenders Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy at the blue line and then faked out Rask in the crease.

With the Bruins already a man down, Chara then backhanded the puck over the glass on a clearing attempt for another penalty. It was back to 5-on-4 when Nikita Kucherov made it 2-0 midway through the period on a power-play one-timer from the faceoff circle.

But David Pastrnak one-timed a golf-shot into the net to make it 2-1 after one, and then the Bruins tied it early in the second on a give-and-go from Bergeron to Torey Krug and back to Bergeron. Boston was back on the penalty kill six minutes into the third when Brad Marchand chased down a puck in the Lightning end and then delivered a cross pass that Bergeron redirected into the net.

Tampa Bay tied it with seven minutes left after Kucherov knocked McAvoy down for the turnover behind the Bruins net and the puck worked its from to J.T. Miller and then Stamkos in the slot for a one-timer to tie it 3-all with seven minutes left in regulation.

NOTES: Marchand continued his habit of licking opponents — this time Ryan Callahan. The two went nose-to-nose during after a whistle with 1:21 left in the second, before Marchand leaned in and tried to lick Callahan's face. The Lightning forward pushed him away. ... Bruins Hall of Famer Ray Bourque was in the crowd. ... Referee Francois St. Laurent took a spill in the first minute of the third period and crashed head- and shoulder-first into the boards behind the Lightning net. He remained in the game. ... Krug was helped to the locker room in the third period.

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