The Boston Bruins inched closer to their first Stanley Cup Finals in more than 20 years after a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday put them one win away from clinching the Eastern Conference title.
The Bruins squandered a 3-0 lead in Game 4 on Saturday to let Tampa Bay even the series, but after falling behind in the first period on Monday they rallied with two goals in the second and a late empty-netter to move to the brink of their first Cup finals since 1990.
“Tampa Bay showed character by turning it around after the first period in their building and we showed character by turning it around in our building,” Boston goaltender Tim Thomas told reporters.
Photo: AFP
Thomas was on top form on Monday with a sprawling stick save on a shot from Steve Downie in the third period one of the highlights of his 33 saves.
Boston can clinch the best-of-seven series with a win in Game 6 today in Tampa Bay.
The Lightning had hoped to ride the momentum from Saturday’s 5-3 comeback win by starting Mike Smith in net after his perfect 21-save performance in relief of Dwayne Roloson.
Tampa Bay’s Simon Gagne scored just 1 minute, 9 seconds into the game and the Lightning controlled the opening period, outshooting the home side 14-4, but Boston’s Nathan Horton tied the game after 4:24 of the second and Brad Marchand put the Bruins ahead 11 minutes later.
In the final minute, Tampa Bay pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker looking for the equalizer, but Rich Peverley capitalized on the empty net to score and seal the 3-1 win.
While the Lightning are down, they are certainly not out of the series. They won three consecutive games to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in a seventh game in the first round.
Tampa Bay must also decide whether to start Roloson or Smith in Game 6.
“They were playing a little bit of mind games [before Game 5], they knew who they were going to start, but we knew either way we had to get shots in front of their goalie. We did that pretty good tonight,” Marchand said.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two