National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Tampa Bay 5, Boston 4
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Where: St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Brad Kovachik, Jean Morin
Attendance: 21426

Hart Trophy finalist Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell collected two goals apiece as the Tampa Bay Lightning forced a decisive seventh game in the Eastern Conference final with a 5-4 home triumph over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

Steven Stamkos recorded a goal and two assists and captain Vincent Lecavalier and Steve Downie both set up a pair of goals for fifth-seeded Tampa Bay, which will head to Beantown for Game 7 on Friday night.

After being pulled in a pair of contests in this series before sitting out Game 5, Dwayne Roloson got the start on Wednesday. The 41-year-old netminder turned aside 16 shots, although he yielded a hat trick to David Krejci.

Following an 0-for-9 effort in its previous three games, Tampa Bay scored on its first three power-play opportunities in this one.

St. Louis knotted the contest at 2-2 just 7:55 into the session after backhanding a loose puck past Vezina Trophy finalist Tim Thomas, who had lost possession of his stick prior to the goal.

Purcell then recorded his second of the night after taking a brilliant feed from Downie and wiring a shot which handcuffed Thomas. The puck caromed off the All-Star netminder's blocker and hip before settling in the back of the net. Purcell had opened the scoring 36 seconds into the game after Lecavalier had won a faceoff in the offensive end.

Stamkos provided some insurance just 34 seconds into the third period by blasting a shot from the left faceoff circle.

Krejci sandwiched a pair of goals just under four minutes apart after St. Louis converted a 2-on-1 with Downie midway through the third period. For Krejci, it was the first Bruins' postseason hat trick since Cam Neely accomplished the feat in 1991.

Milan Lucic collected a goal and an assist, defenseman Tomas Kaberle and Nathan Horton set up a pair of goals apiece and Thomas finished with 21 saves for third-seeded Boston.

Top Game Performances
 
Boston   Tampa Bay
David Krejci 3 Points Martin St. Louis 3
David Krejci 3 Goals Martin St. Louis 2
Nathan Horton 2 Assists Steven Stamkos 2
David Krejci 1 Power Play Goals Martin St. Louis 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Tim Thomas .808 Save Percentage Dwayne Roloson .800
Tim Thomas 21 Saves Dwayne Roloson 16
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Boston 20 4 1-5 1-4 10 31
Tampa Bay 26 5 3-4 4-5 10 34
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Lightning have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .556 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Bruins have a W/L % of .543 after a win and .600 after a loss.