SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF

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1 SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF Boston Bruins Held at Bay / Bruins can t finish the job in Tampa so there will be a Game 7 tomorrow Lucic hopes to bring it home Game 7 showdown next for Bruins Krejci knows score Keeping Chara in front could make a powerful difference A real charge to them Boucher stuck to the plan regarding his goaltenders Up to speed on pivotal play Lightning top Bruins to force Game 7 in East final Bruins need best of Special teams kill Bruins again as celebration cut short David Krejci gets trick, no treat Martin St. Louis big-time for Lightning again Power failure killing Bruins Canucks wait for foe Daniel Paille making most of his playing time Buffalo Sabres Sabres order room service, sign Foligno Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black makes promise to Rochester fans Calgary Flames Relocated Flames enjoyed balanced schedule Carolina Hurricanes Canes' Osala says he's set for KHL Chicago Blackhawks Word on the Street: Kopecky leaving Hawks? Detroit Red Wings Take it from Mike Babcock's wife: Nicklas Lidstrom likely to return to Red Wings Red Wings' Todd Bertuzzi feeling better, but not yet over concussion Red Wings' Brian Rafalski: 'It's time for me to move on' Outgoing Wing Brian Rafalski retires with dignity Red Wings: Notebook Injuries took a toll on retiring Wing Brian Rafalski Is Nicklas Lidstrom workout a clue that he'll return to Wings? Red Wings have money for free agents, but there are 'not many Brian Rafalskis' out there Red Wings' Ken Holland not apt to pursue a restricted free agent to replace Brian Rafalski As expected, Red Wings' Brian Rafalski announces retirement Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom is working out hard, an encouraging sign to Mike Babcock Edmonton Oilers Hockey runs in Morrow s family Reddox off to Sweden Minnesota Wild A little stardust The 1991 North Stars' playoff run Aeros win Western Conference championship, advance to Calder Cup Finals Minnesota Wild Fan Fest will be held during NHL draft Nashville Predators Nashville Predators could have chance to move to NHL Eastern Conference NHL 5/26/2011 New Jersey Devils Rafalski Retires, Pain Trumping Money Former Devil Brian Rafalski decides to call it a career Former Devils defenseman Brian Rafalski retires from NHL Devils GM wishes retired Rafalski best New York Islanders New York Islanders sign potential future captain Kyle Okposo to five-year, $14 contract extension Islanders sign Okposo to 5-year deal Okposo agrees to 5-year, $14M deal NHL Back to Boston Young players in demand Lightning explode against Bruins to force Game Late Pickups Help Fuel Canucks Run to Stanley Cup Finals Phoenix Coyotes years time has made big difference for Valley teams San Jose Sharks San Jose Sharks, stung by loss, vow to be hungrier For Sharks, the sting will linger San Jose Sharks' Joe Thornton plays in pain Sharks are best NHL team to never make Finals St Louis Blues Russian forward prospect decides to play for father Tampa Bay Lightning Purcell again clutch for Bolts Lightning edge Boston, force Game Penalty-killing unit continues to be superb Big Three come up big to help Lightning answer Lightning unsure whether Bergenheim will play in Game Bruins seek better start tonight against 'desperate' Lightning Lightning need their biggest stars to shine tonight Garrison Channel dye job today to support Lightning Tampa Bay Lightning-Boston Bruins Eastern Conference final: What they're saying after Game Tampa Bay Lightning special teams produce big moments Tampa Bay Lightning beats Boston Bruins 5-4 to force Game 7 in East final Tampa Bay Lightning's Teddy Purcell reaches new heights Tampa Bay Lightning-Boston Bruins news and notes Tampa Bay Lightning's Steven Stamkos says playoffs making him more complete player For Tampa Bay Lightning's Dwayne Roloson, a win is a win Tampa Bay Lightning's Sean Bergenheim briefly skates on Wednesday, is a game-time decision Tampa Bay Lightning W Sean Bergenheim briefly skates on Wednesday and is a game-time decision Vancouver Canucks Canucks in final 'long time coming' Luongo finally shedding playoff reputation Cup final a must for Vigneault Canucks' top five playoff performances Canucks have the sizzle, the steak... and the appetite for a Stanley Cup title Canucks icon Trevor Linden: 'This team is going to win' It feels like this is finally Vancouver's year Key to Canucks' success a Millionaires' move? Rogers Arena to open to Canucks fans during away games in Stanley Cup final Skating core to Hamhuis' success

2 Canucks Continued Little things add up bigtime for Canucks Canucks' Raymond puts injuries behind him Canucks alumni from '82 helped build current juggernaut Websites CNN/Sports Illustrated / NHL POWER RANKINGS Red Wings rise to No. 1, Caps sink ESPN / Bruins-Bolts: Bird's eye view of Game ESPN / Lightning put words into action ESPN / The punch that led Kevin Bieksa to Canucks ESPN / Brian Rafalski retires... is Lidstrom next? Sportsnet.ca / Final chapter Sportsnet.ca / Offence is the answer TSN.CA / An unfortunate miss in Game 5 of Western Final USA TODAY / Lightning squeeze by Bruins in Tampa to force decisive Game YAHOO SPORTS / Canucks in pure joy for shot at Stanley Cup SPORT-SCAN, INC

3 Boston Bruins Held at Bay / Bruins can t finish the job in Tampa so there will be a Game 7 tomorrow By Fluto Shinzawa TAMPA Johnny Boychuk picked the wrong time to go for a skate in the offensive zone. At 9:46 of the third period, David Krejci scored a power-play goal the second of what would be three strikes for the Bruins No. 1 center to close the Lightning s lead to 4-3. Tampa Bay goalie Dwayne Roloson (four goals allowed on 20 shots) was hardly inspiring confidence with his netminding. But just 29 seconds later, partly because Boychuk was caught up ice, Martin St. Louis ripped out the Bruins hearts with a counterpunch on Tim Thomas, his former University of Vermont teammate. It turned out to be the deciding goal in the Lightning s 5-4 Game 6 victory before 21,426 at St. Pete Times Forum. Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals is tomorrow at TD Garden. The winner moves on to Vancouver to play for the Stanley Cup. Loser hits the links. Throughout the playoffs, other than the first two games in the very first series, we ve been able to bounce back, Milan Lucic said. It s going to be our toughest challenge. We need to get a full 60 minutes. Once again in this building, we didn t have a good second period. I think that s a key to our success. We need to find a way to play a full 60 minutes. That s going to be important going into the next game. It was an uncharacteristic game for two teams known for airtight defense and lockdown goaltending. Roloson and Thomas entered the series as the two best goalies in the playoffs. Last night, they were far from their best. We won. That s all. That s all we re asking, Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said when asked of Roloson s play. We re asking him for a chance to win. That s what we got. Just 36 seconds into the game, the Lightning s Teddy Purcell opened the scoring. Boston s No. 1 line responded with two first-period goals from Krejci and Lucic. But Tampa Bay turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead with three power-play goals, off the sticks of St. Louis, Purcell, and Steven Stamkos. On each strike, the Lightning had crisp puck movement and heavy net-front presence. Their power play was able to move it around and get it to open people for really good shots in really good scoring areas, said Thomas (21 saves). That helped them out a lot. Penalties to Dennis Seidenberg (cross-checking), Rich Peverley (interference), and Andrew Ference (cross-checking) led to the man-up situations. Really, really tough to swallow, Bruins coach Claude Julien said of some of the calls. At the same time, you want your team to kill those penalties, which we ve done a pretty good job of throughout the series. But tonight wasn t the case. Obviously, it was the difference in the game. Just 34 seconds into the third, Stamkos had given the Lightning a 4-2 lead with a power-play goal. But at 8:12, Vincent Lecavalier was sent off for hooking. The Bruins, 0 for 4 on the power play to that point, finally busted through. Nathan Horton, stickhandling at the left circle, spotted Krejci in front. Krejci took a tape-to-tape pass and beat Roloson to trim Tampa s lead to one. The Bruins had the momentum. They were pushing on Roloson, who looked just as rattled as he did in Games 2 and 4, when he was pulled. But as the Lightning started the breakout from behind their net, rimming the puck around the left wall, Boychuk pinched down to keep the play in the offensive zone. Stamkos beat an onrushing Boychuk with a tumbling chip out of the zone that St. Louis settled at the red line. With Boychuk caught up ice, Ference was left to stave off St. Louis and Steve Downie, who were approaching the offensive zone at full roar. Ference, like all defensemen fending off an odd-man rush, should have taken away St. Louis s cross-ice passs. But St. Louis threaded a pass through Ference and connected with Downie. Thomas lunged aggressively at Downie to close down the angle. Instead of shooting, Downie went back to St. Louis. Before Ference could turn, recover, and mark St. Louis, the ex-catamount had tapped Downie s return pass past Thomas to give the Lightning a 5-3 lead. Thomas got little help on the play. But where Thomas was dominant in Game 5, he looked human in Game 6. The Bruins need him to be sharper tomorrow. I know he s going to be huge for us the next game, Patrice Bergeron said. Everyone in front of him has got to do a great job. It comes down to a team effort. Not just one guy. Krejci s third goal at 13:28 wasn t enough for Boston to rally. When we got to within one goal, we got a D that got caught in, said Julien. You get a two-on-one right after you get within a goal. It s a mistake that becomes costly in the playoffs. If we can minimize that stuff, come out hard the next game, take the lead, and hang onto it, no doubt we re going to be winners. I think our guys are going to be fine for Game 7. I know our guys are going to be ready and they re going to be positive. Our job is to make it happen. Boston Globe LOADED:

4 Boston Bruins Lucic hopes to bring it home took a momentum-sapping interference penalty at 6:58 of the third... Horton was tagged with an end-of-game roughing minor... Patrice Bergeron had a rare losing night in the faceoff circle, going 9 for 19. He was only 1 for 6 through the first period. Boston Globe LOADED: By Fluto Shinzawa TAMPA Nobody wants to advance to the Stanley Cup Final more than Milan Lucic. The series will start next week in Vancouver, Lucic s hometown. So he wants the opportunity to play in front of his family and friends. You ve got to be confident. You ve got to believe, Lucic said of his approach for tomorrow s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Lightning. You can t have any regrets. Everything s on the line. It s the chance to move on and play for something that you ve been dreaming about as a kid your whole life. We re in a situation here that s an exciting situation. We ve got to have fun with it. Go out there and make the most of it. It has been an up-and-down series for Lucic. He has been slowed by an injured right foot, courtesy of an errant Tyler Seguin shot last week in practice. Of late, however, Lucic s game has been trending upward. Last night, he had one goal and one assist in 19:08 of ice time, and landed four shots on goal, tying him with David Krejci (hat trick) for most by a Bruin. Lucic was credited with one hit, although he might have racked up several more than were counted. In the first, Lucic erased a 1-0 deficit. He went one-on-one with Victor Hedman, used him as a screen, and snapped a shot between the defenseman s legs that went high glove on Dwayne Roloson. In the third, Lucic assisted on Krejci s third goal, which trimmed Tampa Bay s lead to 5-4. Linemate Nathan Horton recorded two assists. He was skating tonight, coach Claude Julien said of Lucic. It s as simple as that. When he skates and comes at you hard, he certainly puts everybody on their heels. I thought he was skating well tonight, created some space for himself, and also created some turnovers. That was a big difference-maker as far as that line was concerned. It made a whole lot of difference. Lucic, Krejci, and Horton played their best game of the series. They were heavy on the puck. They created space with big hits and strong skating. They used their size and skill to wear out the Tampa defensemen deep in the offensive zone. They connected for all four of the team s goals. We need to build off it, said Lucic. We need to play the same way. It wasn t enough tonight, so hopefully we can bring even more. That s a positive we can take. You re never happy no matter what you did out there with the loss. But there s some things we can build off of. Lucic always has been a big-game player. The spotlight doesn t get any brighter than it will tomorrow. For almost all of us, it s the biggest game of our careers, Lucic said. We ve got to go out there, have fun, and have no regrets. Pushed to the limit Tomorrow will mark the Bruins second Game 7 of the playoffs. In the first round, the Bruins failed to close out the Canadiens in six games, Montreal scoring a 2-1 win in Game 6 at the Bell Centre. In Game 7, the Bruins claimed a 4-3 overtime win, taking advantage of home ice. Tomorrow, they hope to do the same. That was my comment after the game to our guys, Julien said. You play 82 games. A lot of times, people say, What do you play those 82 games for? I think that s one of the key things, that if you can get home-ice advantage at this time of year, you need to take advantage of it. We did against Montreal. Now we need to do the same thing against Tampa. The Bruins are in Game 7s, 10-6 at home. This is the first time in team history they will play two Game 7s in one postseason. Time is limited Johnny Boychuk looked like a player suffering the effects of a head injury. Boychuk, who said he was foggy after a third-period Steve Downie hit in Game 5, played only 12:27 last night, his lightest workload of the playoffs. Boychuk was on the ice for seven of the nine goals. He had one assist and zero shots... Tomas Kaberle logged 19:46 of ice time, his most of the series. Kaberle assisted on Krejci s second and third goals, but

5 Boston Bruins Game 7 showdown next for Bruins By Dan Shaughnessy TAMPA The Bruins have not won the Stanley Cup since 1972, when most fans watched Bobby Orr on black-and-white televisions that had aluminum foil crunched around a UHF antenna. The Bruins have not been in the Stanley Cup finals since 1990, when Johnny Carson was still host of The Tonight Show. The last time most of us actually saw the Stanley Cup was in 2001, when Ray Bourque, who toiled 21 seasons for the Bruins, brought it here from Colorado to remind us what it looks like. So you didn t think the 2011 Bruins were going to make things easy, did you? The Bruins had a chance to skate into the finals last night, but coughed up a 2-1 second-period lead and dropped a 5-4 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum. And so an epic series will conclude tomorrow night at TD Garden, on the latest date an NHL game has ever been played on Causeway Street. For just about all of us, it will be the biggest game of our lives, said Bruins winger Milan Lucic. We played the whole season to get home ice, added David Krejci, who had a hat trick in Game 6 last night. Now it s our building, our fans. It s going to be exciting. We re still one win away from the Stanley Cup finals. Believe it or not, some Bruins fans like it better this way. There were folks in Boston yesterday who were saying they d rather see the Bruins drop Game 6 and come home for a Friday night Game 7 to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. Back in 2004, there were arrogant New York fans content to see the Yankees lose Games 4 and 5 of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park so they could come home and win it at Yankee Stadium. How d that work out for them? No Teddy Bear Picnic this time. Your Bruins tomorrow will be lugging decades of pressure onto the ice. In 2009 and again in 2010, they were eliminated from the playoffs in a Game 7 at home. Losing would be unbearable. You don t get this close very often. A few weeks ago, the Bruins faced a first-round Game 7 at home against the dreaded Canadiens. Boston prevailed. And coach Claude Julien hopes his guys bring that memory to the Garden tomorrow night. The Six Flags ride of looked as if it might advance in noble fashion when the Bruins skated to a 2-1 lead in the first period last night. Boston held the explosive Lightning to a mere four shots on goal in the first 20 minutes. Then came the Lightning power play which had been shut out (0 for 9) in Games 3, 4, and 5. Tampa s high-flying forwards snapped out of it with three power-play goals in Game 6. The Lightning tied the game in the middle of the second period on a powerplay goal by Martin St. Louis. The ex-vermont Catamount, a college teammate of Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, banged one home from in front of the net, triggering yet another playing of the Kingsmen s iconic Louie, Louie. Tampa regained the lead with 6:25 left in the second period on another power-play goal. This time it was Teddy Purcell slipping a hard wrist shot past Thomas after taking a feed from Steve Downie. Thomas slammed his stick on the ice after the puck dribbled into the back of the net. Tampa took command in the first minute of the third, and again it was a power-play goal by one of the flashy forwards who d been suppressed in the first five games of the series. Steven Stamkos drilled a slapper past Thomas. The Bruins cut it to 4-3 briefly when Krejci scored again (nice pass from Horton), but then it was Louie, Louie time again as St. Louis scored on a nifty two-on-one break with Downie. Krejci s third goal, with 6:32 left, cut it to 5-4. Boston applied more heavy pressure on Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson but ultimately succumbed. Julien was not happy with all the Lightning s power-play opportunities and indicated that the Bruins might have been victims of some old-time gamesmanship by Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher. After the morning skate, the Lightning coach was asked about the assignment of an official (referee Eric Furlatt) whom he deemed to have been very lopsided the past few games. Most coaches would have scoffed at the inquiry, but Boucher was all over it. Twenty-four, nine against, right? said the coach. Yes, I m aware of it. Very aware of it. Very, very aware of it. It has been a part of our discussions quite a few times in the last game, the last games we did have that particular ref. And it is lopsided. According to the Lightning, in Furlatt s last four games (three of them playoff games), he called 24 penalties against Tampa Bay, only nine against Tampa Bay opponents. According to the Globe s intrepid Fluto Shinzawa, the disparity was in three playoff games. By any measurement, Boucher s embrace of the question was a rare demonstration of referee scorekeeping in the hours before an elimination game. It reminded me of something Red Auerbach would have done. And it worked. Tampa Bay got the power plays it needed to bring this series back to Boston. I don t know if I agree with those calls, and hopefully what was said today didn t affect that, said a peeved Julien. Obviously, it was the difference in the game. Looking back at some of those penalties, when you hear what happened today, it makes it look even worse. Yikes. Controversy from gentle Claude. And a Game 7 to boot. It all goes down tomorrow night at the Garden. Winner goes to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the Stanley Cup finals. Boston Globe LOADED:

6 Boston Bruins Krejci knows score By Derek J. LaRiviere TAMPA David Krejci wanted to wrap up the Eastern Conference finals in Game 6 last night, but he ll get another shot tomorrow night on his home ice. Krejci registered the Bruins first postseason hat trick since Cam Neely accomplished the feat in 1991 against the Canadiens, but his performance wasn t enough as the Lightning prevailed, 5-4, to force Game 7. Krejci was in no mood to celebrate, preferring to put last night behind him and look forward to tomorrow night s showdown. It s always nice to score goals, but in the playoffs, it doesn t really matter, he said. A loss is a loss, and a win is a win. We just have to forget about it and get ready for Game 7. Tampa Bay, which won the Stanley Cup in 2004, is stingy defensively, and had never surrendered a postseason hat trick prior to last night. Krejci has scored half of his 10 playoff goals in this series. The offensive boost from the third-year center has been well-received after he scored a career-low 13 goals in 75 games during the regular season. Krejci is enjoying this postseason run after last season s was cut short when he suffered a broken wrist in Game 3 of the series against the Flyers. Now healthy, he s producing at the most opportune time. His third-period power-play goal was Boston s first in this series since Michael Ryder connected in Game 2. The line of Krejci, Milan Lucic, and Nathan Horton was responsible for all of Boston s scoring last night, giving coach Claude Julien confidence his team can rebound behind the efforts of the top trio. That line needed to be big for us, and they were, Julien said. That s certainly something you can build on heading home, that if those guys play like that again, you like our chances. Lucic said a big key for the Bruins is to stay away from stupid penalties. You hope it s not the time of year for make-up calls and penalties, he said, but you can t let the [referees] get to you. Krejci s aggressiveness in front of the net created his scoring chances and he knows things will only get more physical in Game 7. It s going to be tough for us, he said. This is a good team we re facing, and it s not going to be easy. Boston Globe LOADED:

7 Boston Bruins Keeping Chara in front could make a powerful difference By Kevin Paul Dupont TAMPA If the Bruins do win the Stanley Cup next month, their first since 1972, the engraver might be directed to etch one bold asterisk next to their names on the big silver trophy: Accomplished with one hand tied behind their backs. Such is the state of the Boston power play, which actually scored a goal last night ( for the Hallelujah Chorus ) in a 5-4 loss to the Lightning that set up Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals tomorrow night at the Garden. And it was the power play that remained the biggest single difference and for the Bruins, the largest embarrassment between these two Cupdreamin teams. The Bolts went a sizzling 3 for 4 on the man-advantage, helping them to erase a 2-1 deficit, and they are now a playoff-best 17 for 67 (25.4 percent) in the postseason. They are quick, bold, and confident on the power play. The Bruins stumbled their way to a 1-for-5 on the advantage, actually a slight improvement over the last three games, in which they went 0 for 9. They are now 5 for 61 (8.2 percent) in the second season. They are the face of futility each and every time a referee raises his right hand to signal a penalty against the other team. Obviously, it was a difference-maker, noted Boston coach Claude Julien. They scored three times on the power play and it took us a long time to get one. That certainly dictated the game. The larger concern for Bruins: Will the power play, or lack of it, ultimately spell their doom? It took Julien until Game 5 of this series, midway through the final period, to move his resident big man, 6-foot-9-inch Zdeno Chara, to the front line of the power-play attack. It looked better that night, and it looked better again last night, with Chara looming large at the left post when David Krejci (hat trick) popped in the first Boston power-play goal in four games with 9:46 gone in the third. Chara may not be a secret weapon (tough to characterize a guy who stands 7 feet in skates as a secret), but right now he looks like the only answer. He looked that way from early on and throughout the Montreal series, then again in the Philadelphia series, and then still in this series until Monday night. But Julien kept him strictly on point patrol. Is Chara nimble around the net? No. Does he have quick hands and a tricky stick? Absolutely not. He looks awkward up there at times, an accidental tourist sur glace. But he is a presence, and last night he gave Tampa s Dwayne Roloson something to worry about, which is something goalies haven t had to do much when facing the Boston power play this spring. Like New England weather, the Bruins have been all wet when they should be hot. I ve had to play that role before, mused Chara, the captain, whose team will need a double dose of leadership, and maybe a pair of power-play goals to match, tomorrow night. I try to create traffic, do what I can do to create something. With Chara up there, even though the move has led to only one goal thus far, the Bruins at least have some shape to the attack. In his first foray up there last night, they held the offensive zone for a stretch of 1:40. Frequently this postseason, they ve been unable to hold the zone for more than seconds at a time. During some power plays, as in the Flyer series, the Bolts have flushed them out of the attack zone four, five, six times. It was better, noted point man Dennis Seidenberg. Today was a first step, but we have to be better. [Chara] takes up a lot of room out there. I think we have to exploit him a little more, find ways to get the puck to him. Getting it to Chara will help. Just getting it near him will be progress. When he is parked near the crease, it takes both defenders low in the box to corral the Trencin Tower of Power. To this point in the postseason, if he has been a secret, he s been the one the Bruins have kept from themselves. Julien has waited patiently, waiting to see some pop from a variety of five-man combinations, only to reach into a pocketful of promises and pull out lint, pennies, and paper clips. Meanwhile, the Boston penalty killers were far too charitable, stung three times on four kills, after going 9 for 9 in the previous three games (against the hottest PP unit in the playoffs). Last night was a lesson in discipline lost, even if Julien felt, as he noted more than once in his postgame briefing, that not all the penalties against Boston were proper calls. We have to stay disciplined against a team like them, said Patrice Bergeron, one of the Bruins top killers. They are so good on the power play. Stay out of the box. Stay disciplined. That s the key. Chara, agreed Bergeron, brought a lift to the power play. He creates room in front of the net, he said. He s strong up there. I thought it worked well with him. It s a start. But is it too late? The Boston power play was mediocre all season, then turned totally sour in late February, ironically after the acquisition of point man Tomas Kaberle (two assists last night). Now it looks as if they have a point man who might turn it around, but it s Chara, forced to make a late-in-the-play career change. He did a great job in front, said Julien. That s something we need to capitalize on. For starters, tomorrow night would be a fine time, while the engraver remains on duty, with that asterisk ready stamp next to the Spoked-B. Boston Globe LOADED:

8 Boston Bruins A real charge to them By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell we re expecting that. Today is today but the next day is going to be another story that we have to figure him out. As for his decision to come back with Roloson, who had 16 saves, the result was what they were looking for. We won, said Boucher. That s what we re asking. We re asking him for a chance to win and that s what we got. Boston Globe LOADED: TAMPA The Lightning had much to prove in Game 6 last night. They were playing for their hockey lives, hoping to force a Game 7 in Boston tomorrow night to keep their playoffs going. They needed goalie Dwayne Roloson, who sat out Game 5 in favor of backup Mike Smith, to elevate his game. They needed their big guns Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, and Steven Stamkos to step up. And they needed their special teams to be more effective. The Lightning got all those things on the way to a 5-4 victory to even the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals at three games apiece. St. Louis netted two goals, his second holding up as the winner, and added an assist. Teddy Purcell had a pair of goals. Stamkos had a goal and two assists. And Lecavalier had a pair of assists. The Lightning s power play was 3 for 4, and their penalty killing neutralized four of Boston s five man-advantage opportunities. Lecavalier said it was a matter of believing they could do it. We were skating tonight, we played well as a team, he said. Even though they were always kind of coming back, we kept on playing and kept on being aggressive and it paid off. It was a great game. We never quit. We re excited. It s a huge game for us tonight. The crowd was great, and now we have to go in their barn and play the same way we did tonight. The Lightning faced elimination in the opening round against Pittsburgh when they trailed, 3-1, but then roared back to win three straight. We have that confidence, said Lecavalier. And obviously it comes down to one game. We re going to have to step up our game even more. Special teams played well, and five on five, everybody. St. Louis was a presence throughout Game 6. His winning goal came at 10:15 of the third, coming just 29 seconds after David Krejci had scored to pull the Bruins within 4-3. He was skating and he was hungry, said Lecavalier. Everybody really stepped up their game tonight from our last game and it shows. When we re skating, we get more opportunities and we play better hockey. The power play, which had been inconsistent, really made the difference. We attacked the net a lot more, said Lecavalier. We were struggling a little bit, pretty much the whole series. We got in their zone as much as we could and we set it up. After that, we got some shots on net. Coach Guy Boucher said it was only a matter of time before their efforts paid off, and he saw more poise in Game 6. It s not an on-and-off switch, said Boucher. It s something you build every game, and they got what they deserved. The last two games, one of our power plays had a lot of poise and the other one didn t. I think today both had a lot more poise and we got the results. Boucher was asked about the number of penalties called, because he had referenced the lopsidedness of other games when the Lightning were more heavily penalized when referee Eric Furlatt was working. His comments were not appreciated by Bruins coach Claude Julien, but Boucher said he was just answering a question. Power plays are 5-4 for them tonight, and they were 3-0 to start the game and it was 4-1 for them before we got our other power plays, said Boucher. I don t know, who got the advantage today? We got less power plays than them. One of the staunchest challenges for the Lightning has been finding a way to get pucks past Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. They did that in Game 6. I guess we solved it for tonight, said Boucher. He said they were going to win for sure, so I m sure he s going to come up big in the next game, so

9 Boston Bruins Boucher stuck to the plan regarding his goaltenders So it s great to see a youngster that s figuring it out real early, and that s part of the battling level that you need to have success at this level. Boston Globe LOADED: By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell TAMPA Lightning coach Guy Boucher had a plan heading into Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night. The first-year bench boss felt not only that backup goaltender Mike Smith had earned a shot at getting a starting nod, but there was the bonus of getting 41-year-old starter Dwayne Roloson some rest. But as well as Smith played in that 3-1 loss, Boucher always planned to come back with Roloson. The coach told Roloson Monday that he d be playing in Game 6. I knew what my plan was, whatever the consequences were going to be, said Boucher. Asked what his goalie s reaction was, Boucher said he had a big smile on his face because he was rested. Roloson went into last night with a 9-5 record in the playoffs, with a goalsagainst average of 2.51 and a.925 save percentage. Spark sought Boucher acknowledged that his team needed more offense, though he refused to single out any players. But Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas and Boston s defense had been stifling his top forwards for most of the first five games. Our top two lines obviously have to be part of the solution, said Boucher. They ve had some scoring chances so that s not the problem. It s really burying it. But I think everybody s had some problems burying it against Thomas. So I think it s a real team thing. And I m certainly not about to put more pressure on anybody. Anybody can be the hero, and nobody s preventing Adam Hall from scoring the goal or [Nate] Thompson from scoring the goal or any of our defensemen from scoring the goal. I think it s a big danger when you start pointing fingers at some guys and guys are pushing. We can do a lot of things better, and as a team, we ve always focused on everybody being part of it, so that s the way I approach it. Officially speaking Boucher was candid when asked about the officiating for Game 6. Although the coach didn t cite referee Eric Furlatt by name, the Lightning have not fared well when he has been on the ice. In the last four Tampa Bay games Furlatt worked, including three in the playoffs, he had called 24 penalties on the Lightning to just nine for the opposition. I m aware of it, very aware of it, Boucher said before the game. Very, very aware of it. It has been a part of our discussions quite a few times in the last game, the last games we did have that particular ref, and it is lopsided. But the only thing we can control is what we do on the ice and hope that things will be fair, like it is with everybody else. You want to ignore it, but you re right, it is a concern. Stamkos shines Lightning forward Steven Stamkos had one assist and two shots on net in 20 minutes of ice time in Game 5. His best outing of the series was in Game 2 when he collected a goal and two assists. Boucher has been impressed with what he has seen from the 21-year-old, who is playing in his first NHL postseason. I think he s been terrific, said Boucher. I think he s learned. I think every game you saw and last game, he was really good out there. He s flying. He was keeping their defensemen on their heels all the time and I feel that he s a major threat. And last game, he could ve gotten 2, 3 points easily. If he keeps it up, he s going to be a real winner. There s a difference between being a winner and a star, and I think he s figured that out.

10 Boston Bruins Up to speed on pivotal play By Fluto Shinzawa TAMPA With 1:08 remaining in Game 5 and play halted for a Tampa Bay timeout, Bruins coach Claude Julien had zero doubt about his personnel for the neutral-zone faceoff. On the back end, Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg were slam dunks. Up front, Julien wanted three centers, including two right shots: Patrice Bergeron, Rich Peverley, and Chris Kelly. I didn t know if there was an icing, which side the faceoff would be on, Julien explained. We had two right centermen and a left. I thought that was important. At the same time, even more important was the fact that those guys have good speed. They were really, really good at putting pressure on Tampa so they couldn t get themselves going and getting in our end as quickly as they would have liked to. I thought they did a great job, even on the interchange in the neutral zone. When one guy forechecked and they moved it to the other side, they did a great job of interchanging. We kept the pressure on those guys. Bergeron lost the faceoff to Vincent Lecavalier, and the Lightning gained the blue line. But because the Boston forwards rotated and kept attacking the puck, the Lightning never set up in their six-on-five formation with goalie Mike Smith pulled for an extra skater. Kelly attacked Marc-Andre Bergeron at the point, and his pressure caused Bergeron to cough up the puck to Peverley. Bergeron recovered and blocked Peverley s initial shot, but Peverley found the the puck and buried the game-ending empty-netter. Chris forced the puck bobble by Bergeron, Peverley said. With Shawn Thornton scratched for Games 3 through 5, Peverley has taken the enforcer s spot on the fourth line alongside Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell. But Julien has been quick to tap Peverley for ice time in all situations. Peverley has been on the power play. He has killed penalties. In the third period of Game 4, Peverley took even-strength shifts on the second line. In Game 5, when Tampa coach Guy Boucher double-shifted Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis on his third line, Julien countered by switching Peverley with Tyler Seguin. Peverley has been Julien s ultimate utility player. I had to put Peverley out there at the point and make sure we had some experience against some of those guys, Julien said of flip-flopping Peverley and Seguin. This is where Pevs becomes a real useful player. He did a great job on the penalty kill, and he jumped in there on the third power play we had. He was used for faceoffs, and he was very good. You can t just put a guy like him on the fourth line and just give him a few minutes. Peverley s current role is exactly what management projected when he was acquired from Atlanta in a package for Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart. Because of his speed and versatility, Peverley has turned into a go-to player for Julien. That suits him just fine. It s a lot of responsibility, Peverley said of being on the ice in the final minute. You ve got to go out and block shots. I think the majority of the reasoning is because we re all good on faceoffs. If one of us gets thrown out, another can jump in. To be relied on, it s a big confidence booster. A big spot for Chara In the third period of Game 5, for the first time in the playoffs, the Bruins rolled out their biggest player for net-front power-play duty. Upon study of game tape, Julien liked what he saw of Chara setting up shop in front of Smith. Asked if he would use Chara down low again tonight, Julien said, Always a we ll-see kind of answer. But I liked what he did in front of the net. He s a big body. He s a big presence. It seems when he s in front of the net, the guys don t hesitate to shoot either, because they know he s there. You have to be able to get control of the puck. You have to be able to move it around. You have to be able to move to the shooting areas. If you don t do that, it doesn t matter if Z is in front or not. But the guys that were out there managed to get control of the puck and managed to get some quality shots. Chara has been manning the point on the No. 2 unit alongside Bergeron. In Game 5, Andrew Ference filled Chara s point position. It s likely that Chara will remain down low tonight. You can t do much, Adam McQuaid said of battling a widebody like Chara. Obviously you re not going to be able to move him. I don t really know that there s too much you can do. You probably can t worry too much about him. You ve got to worry that shots don t get through. Boychuk is OK At 10:54 of the third period, Steve Downie finished his check on Johnny Boychuk, slamming the defenseman s head into the glass. Downie was called for boarding. Boychuk staggered down the runway with assistance and didn t return. Yesterday, Boychuk was clear-eyed and cheery as usual. I was a little foggy, he said. But after I got off the ice, I felt totally fine. Boychuk will play tonight... After backing up Smith in Game 5, Dwayne Roloson will start tonight. Doesn t change anything for us at all, Mark Recchi said. They re both good goalies. Smith has come in and done a great job for them. Roloson s done a great job all year from the time he got traded from the Islanders to here. Boston Globe LOADED:

11 Boston Bruins Lightning top Bruins to force Game 7 in East final By Fred Goodall TAMPA, Fla. Facing elimination in the Eastern Conference finals, the Tampa Bay Lightning knew they could count on Martin St. Louis to make a difference. The six-time NHL All-Star has a knack for thriving in big games. What he did -- on and off the ice -- to help his team stay alive against the Boston Bruins hardly came as a surprise on Wednesday night. "I think that's what you play for," St. Louis said after scoring twice and assisting on a third goal as the Lightning rallied to beat the Bruins 5-4 in Game 6. "Whether it's as a kid in the driveway and pretending to be a Game 7, those are the games you watch.... Those are the games that get your fire going and those are the ones you want to play in," he added. "The do-or-die games. Our backs against the wall. You want to leave it out there, and I was fortunate to get a couple of good bounces." The Lightning also got a lift from Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier, and resilient goaltender Dwayne Roloson weathered a hat trick by Boston's David Krejci to force Game 7 in Boston on Friday night. All that after St. Louis got his teammates' attention with some inspiring words in the locker room. "He's the first guy to step up and get the guys going. He's obviously been through every type of experience, and every single type of championship you could win, he's been there," Stamkos said. "He's won individual awards. He's won the Stanley Cup and he's always been a big part," the Lightning's 21-year-old forward added. "He knows what to do and how to react in those situations. He stepped up before the game and said a few words, and just the respect he has from every single guy on the team, we take it to heart.... He's been our go-to guy, and he was again." The Bruins are seeking their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 21 years, and the Lightning will try to clinch their first appearance on hockey's biggest stage since they won their only league title in The Western Conference-champion Vancouver Canucks await the winner. "We've been able to bounce back, but it's going to be our toughest challenge. We need to put together a full 60 minutes and that's going to be important going into the next game," Boston forward Milan Lucic said. St. Louis assisted on a third-period goal that put the Lightning up 4-2. His second goal -- and NHL-leading 10th of the playoffs -- restored Tampa Bay's two-goal lead after Boston pulled to 4-3 on one of two goals Krejci scored to keep the Bruins close in the closing minutes. Roloson, who didn't play in Game 5 after being pulled from two of the previous three games because of ineffectiveness, also gave up a pair of first-period goals and finished with 16 saves. "It's just one game now, and we've got to focus on what we've got to do and play 60 minutes or 120 or 420, whatever it's going to take to win the game," Roloson said. Boston's Tim Thomas gave up another early goal, then struggled after Krejci and Milan Lucic scored to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead through one period. The Lightning took control when St. Louis, Purcell and Stamkos scored power-play goals within a 12-minute span of the second and third periods. "The fourth win, they don't give it to you, as we learned once again. Not that we were looking for them to give it to us. It's just more proof that's the way it goes," said Thomas, who stopped 21 shots after a superb performance in Game 5 moved the Bruins within one victory of their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since Roloson improved to 7-0 in elimination games during his career, including 4-0 this postseason. The Lightning rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Pittsburgh in the first round, with their 41-year-old goalie shutting out the Penguins in Game 7 on the road. "I wasn't aware of it. It's nothing. I don't think it's me. It's the teams that I've played on.... It's not about individuals," Roloson said. "It takes a whole team to win hockey games, and that's what it's all about in this locker room also." Bruins coach Claude Julien said his team would need to play its best game of the series to clinch it, and the Bruins certainly had to have some doubt about how the night might go after Teddy Purcell scored the first of his two goals on Tampa Bay's first shot of the game. Lucic countered for Boston less than 7 minutes later with a wrist shot from the slot that got past Roloson. Krejci's third goal of the series, after he took a nice backhand pass from Daniel Paille, gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead with 3:30 remaining in the first period. But an inability to take advantage of three more power plays caught up with Boston in the middle of the second period when Tampa Bay, which hadn't scored in man-advantage situations since Game 2, converted three within 12 minutes to regain the lead for good. Despite the loss, the Bruins are confident returning home. They faced a similar situation in the opening round, losing Game 6 on the road against Montreal before winning Game 7 at TD Garden. "I think our guys are going to be fine for Game 7," Julien said. "I know our guys will be ready and positive, and our job is to make it happen." Notes: Krejci's hat trick -- giving him 10 goals this postseason to share the league lead with St. Louis -- was Boston's first in a playoff game since Cam Neely did it April 25, 1991 against Montreal.... Tampa Bay's "Big Three" of St. Louis, Stamkos and Lecavalier combined for three goals and five assists after contributing just one goal and two assists in the previous three games. That goal was an empty-netter by St. Louis in Game Purcell's quick goal marked the fourth time in the series a team scored less than 2 minutes into a game.... The Lightning played without injured LW Sean Bergenheim, who missed the last two periods of Game 5 with an undisclosed injury. Boston Globe LOADED:

12 Boston Bruins Bruins need best of 7 By Steve Buckley TAMPA The Bruins performance last night at the St. Pete Times Forum was tantamount to a public service announcement to those fans who have been waiting 39 years for another Stanley Cup and 21 years for a trip to the Cup finals: Be patient. The PSA came in the form of a 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, a loss that sends the series back to the Garden tomorrow night for Game 7. The winner of that game gets a quick shower and a long, grueling trip to Vancouver for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. The loser will be thinking that, gee, a long, grueling trip to Vancouver would have been a great way to start the weekend. But just as the outcome of Game 5 gave Bruins fans all kinds of reasons to daydream about the Cup finals, what with the B s bouncing back from a horrible first period and goaltender Tim Thomas making that dazzling, never-to-be-forgotten stick save in the third, Game 6 brought all your doubts back to the table. Such as the power play, or lack thereof. While the Bruins did score a power play goal last night the second of David Krejci s hat trick the big picture is that this man-advantage thing continues to baffle the Bruins. The Bolts were 3-for-4 on the power play, the Bruins 1-for-5. Until Krejci s goal, the Bruins had gone 253 minutes and 20 seconds between power-play scores. Yes, Bruins coach Claude Julien can complain all he wants about the officiating I don t know if I agree with those calls, he whined after the game but when your team is 1-for-26 in power play goals on the road, it makes hollering about the officiating a waste of time. And then there is the goaltending, and we ll stop right here and make it clear that Thomas was not bad last night that is, not bad in the conventional sense. But here s a pop quiz: Going into the playoffs, what was the No. 1 reason to think the Bruins had a chance to win the Stanley Cup? Answer: Tim Thomas! He has already registered a shutout in this series. And yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes, the save excuse me, The Save Thomas made in the third period of Game 5 is an Instant Classic that will be on the grammar school curriculum throughout New England well into the century. But it wasn t about great saves last night; it was about making the garden-variety saves, and Thomas didn t make enough of those. With the game tied 2-2 in the second period, Tampa Bay on the power play after Rich Peverley had been sent to the box on one of those many calls Coach Claude disagrees with, Teddy Purcell took a shot from the left circle that appeared to go off Thomas pad and then under his arm and into the net. Thomas must have been as frustrated with the goal as any Bruins fan, given the ferociousness with which he slammed his stick onto the ice as jubilant Tampa Bay players celebrated. Again, it wasn t that Thomas made bad saves. It s just that he didn t make great saves. And for the Bruins to get out of this series alive and make that weekend trip to B.C. Vancouver, not Chestnut Hill Thomas must continue to be great. Not good, or even very good. Great. This is the B s only chance. Thomas was in reasonably good spirits after the game. He even did some quick math and his head, spliced in some old-time hockey history, and came up with the following observation about playoff hockey: The fourth win, they don t give it to you, as we learned once again tonight. Not that we were looking for them to give it to us. It s just more proof that that s the way it goes, he said. It s a best-of-seven series. If it was a best-of-five series, we would have won it already. That s why it is a best-of-seven. Tim Thomas was clearly using his head there when he put all that hockey info out there for deadline-challenged sportswriters. But it s not about Tim Thomas using his head, but standing on it. After Game 5 Monday night, Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher lamented that the challenge facing his team is solving the enigma that is Tim Thomas. And after Game 6? I guess we solved it for tonight, Boucher said. Boston Herald LOADED: