Tag Archives: NHL Eastern Conference Finals

May 26 2011

Daily Noontime – May 26, 2011

The Lightning won another do-or-die game, which means Game 7 will be played at the TD Garden in Boston on Friday!

It’s Thursday, which means the weekend is upon us! Happy Thursday to everyone and welcome to yet another Daily Noontime! 

Headlines: 

* The Tampa Bay Lightning took care of business on Wednesday, as they scored multiple times on the power play to beat Boston and force a Game 7 at the TD Garden on Friday.

* It took just five games, but the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder and will advance to the NBA Finals to face Chicago or Miami.

* Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown was hired on Wednesday to coach the Los Angles Lakers.

* The Red Sox scored seven runs during the first inning and then went onto beat the Indians on Wednesday, 14-2.

* According to New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, his team’s workouts are important.

* The MLB has some tough catchers, but now the questions remains, should they not block the plate when the opposing teams attempts to score runs?

Games to Watch: 

* Kansas City at Baltimore (MLB) – 12:3pm eastern

* Boston at Detroit (MLB) – 1:05pm eastern

* New York Mets at Chicago Cubs (MLB) – 2:20pm eastern

* Florida at San Francisco (MLB) – 3:45pm eastern

Video of the Day: 

It’s always embarrassing when you score a goal on your own goalie!

May 25 2011

Tampa Bay Forces Game 7, Beats Boston 5-4

Dwayne Roloson helped the Lightning by saving 16-shots in Game 6 against the Bruins.

Teddy Purcell wasted little time after the opening face-off, as he scored the Lightning’s first goal in less than a minute to give Tampa Bay the early momentum.

Boston responded nearly seven minutes later when Milan Lucic netted the Bruins first goal of the game, which was followed up by a David Krejci score nearly 10-minutes later.

The Bruins took their lead into the first intermission, but their Eastern Conference Finals celebration was short lived, as Tampa Bay responded with two more goals in the second period, thanks to Martin St. Louis and Purcell.

Tampa Bay then stretched their one-goal lead to two, when Steven Stamkos scored his first goal of the contest. Afterward, Boston and Tampa Bay started trading goals, as Krejci scored his second and third to complete the hat trick, while St. Louis scored his second goal of the contest.

Tim Thomas saved 21-of-26 shots between the pipes, while Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson saved 16-of-20 shots.

Tampa Bay earned their third victory of the series and forced a Game 7 on Friday at the TD Garden. The winner of Game 7 will advance to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Canucks.   

May 25 2011

Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lighting Game 6: Who Wins? Cast Your Vote!

Game 6 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning will be held this evening in Florida, but with the Black and Gold just one win away from their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1990, we want to know, who will win? Cast your vote below and watch our video above to get excited for Wednesday’s game! 

May 24 2011

Daily Noontime – May 24, 2011

The Cleveland Indians are HOT, but how HOT?

Happy Tuesday to everyone and welcome to the Daily Noontime. We’ve got some great news to share from the sports world, so sit back, relax and enjoy! 

Headlines: 

* The Cleveland Indians have surprised a great deal of baseball fans this season, but just like they have done earlier this season, they beat the Red Sox on Monday at home, 3-2.

* For the Boston Bruins, the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs has indeed been exciting, but also incredibly frustrating at times. Yet, why do I say, “frustrating” because that would certainly be the word to describe their power play. However, against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday, the Black and Gold succeeded and earned their third win of the series, as Boston won 3-1.

* It’s not official, but it certainly seems that those die-hards in Winnipeg want the Jets to return to the NHL next season. Will it happen, who knows?

* According to reports, some believe that the NFL players and owners should leave the courtroom and return to the negotiating table, but again, will that happen, who knows?

* Good news for Dallas Cowboys fans, they had 45 veteran players show up for a workout on Monday, but no rookies.

* Before the 2011 MLB season began, the media reported the state of the New York Mets, which was rather awful. Now, more information seems to be available in regards to their financial woes and yes, it’s not good.

Games to Watch: 

* Arizona at Colorado (MLB) – 3:05pm eastern

* Boston at Cleveland (MLB) – 7:05pm eastern

* New York Mets at Chicago Cubs (MLB) – 8:05pm eastern

* Chicago Bulls at Miami (NBA Playoffs) – 8:30pm eastern

* San Jose at Vancouver (NHL Playoffs) – 9:00pm eastern

Video of the Day: 

Guy Boucher is a very intense coach, but in this particular video, we learn how nuts he can be, so watch!


May 20 2011

Thomas Shuts Out Lightning, Boston Beats Tampa Bay 2-0

By Stacey Kilpatrick

Things are looking good for the Boston fan faithful, as the Bruins took a commanding 2-1 lead in the NHL Eastern Conference Final series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday with a 2-0 win in Game 3. The Bruins defense played one of their better games of the series and goaltender Tim Thomas earned his second career playoff shutout, as he denied 31-shots between the pipes.

“It looked real good [this evening],” Thomas said of his team’s defensive efforts in a post-game interview on Versus. “Tampa had their chances at times. We did a really good job of picking up rebounds [and it was] by far the best defensive game we’ve played in the series.”

Not only did Thomas play great once again, but also, Patrice Bergeron played after being sidelined with a concussion for the first two games of the series. Bergeron skated for 19:13 and had two shots on goal and won 18 of 28 face-offs (64.3%).

“I felt good,” Bergeron said post-game. “I was confident I was ready. Overall, it was a great team effort. That’s how you win.”

David Krejci put the Bruins in a sweet spot, scoring just 1:09 into the game with assists from Milan Lucic and Johnny Boychuk. Krejci has now made seven goals in the postseason.

Up until 8:12 in the third, 1:09 seemed to be frozen on everyone’s clocks – with no goals from the Lightning and no new scores by the Bruins, but Andrew Ference made that change when he bumped Boston’s lead to two with help from Michael Ryder and Chris Kelly.

The Bruins will look to continue their dominance on Saturday during Game 4 at Tampa, face-off is scheduled for 1:30PM eastern.

May 18 2011

Daily Noontime – May 18, 2011

Mr. Tyler Seguin has been impressive against the Lightning, as he has recorded three goals and assists in the NHL Eastern Conference Finals.

It’s officially Wednesday, “hump day,” so hang in there everyone because another weekend is right around the corner! Yet, in the meantime, here is today’s headlines and news, so enjoy!

Headlines: 

* Tuesday was an amazing day for Boston Bruins rookie forward Tyler Seguin, who recorded two goals and assists against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

* The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder played Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday and yes, Dirk Nowitzki dropped 48-points.

* Some good news occurred for the New York Yankees, as they finally ended their six-game losing streak and beat the Tampa Bay Rays.

* While the NFL remains locked out, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Keith Brooking believes things will get sorted out and no games will be missed.

* The Boston Red Sox didn’t play Tuesday due to rain, but they did do something, which was sent Dice-K to the DL.

* Good news for Cleveland Cavaliers fans, they’ll be picking first in the 2011 NBA Draft in June. Heck, I bet this makes up for LeBron James leaving, right?

Games to Watch: 

* Colorado at Philadelphia (MLB) – 7:00pm eastern

* New York Yankees at Baltimore (MLB) – 7:05pm eastern

* Texas at Kansas City (MLB) – 8:10pm eastern

* Miami at Chicago (NBA Playoffs) – 8:30pm eastern

* San Jose at Vancouver (NHL Playoffs) – 9:00pm eastern

Video of the Day: 

Nothing like the “hidden ball” trick, especially in a NCAA playoff game against University of North Carolina. 


May 14 2011

Tampa Bay Scores Early and Often, Lightning Beat Bruins, 5-2

By Brian Willwerth 

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Bruins were struck early and often by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts made that early strike stand up.

Tampa Bay scored three goals in a span of less than 90 seconds in the opening period, and went on to win, 5-2 and now the Lightning lead the series, 1-0.

The Bolts got on the board at 11:15 of the period when Sean Bergenheim picked up a loose rebound in front of Tim Thomas, and put one in an open net. He has eight goals in the playoffs – four of them coming in the last three games. Then 19 seconds later, Brett Clark made it 2-0 when he broke in on the right wing and backhanded one past Thomas – a shot Thomas would love to have back.

Just over a minute later, Tomas Kaberle was sloppy behind his own net. Teddy Purcell picked up the loose puck and stuffed it behind an unsuspecting Thomas to make it 3-0.

The Bruins never recovered.

They did get on the board at the 15:59 mark when Tyler Seguin, making his playoff debut, made a nifty move to get through the defense and beat Dwayne Roloson to the glove side to make it 3-1.

The Bruins outshot the Lightning 12-10 in the opening period. But Tampa Bay had the lead.

In a scoreless second period, each team got its first power-play opportunities.  The Lightning had several chances, but was denied by Thomas. The Bruins did not get a shot on Roloson when they had the man advantage. On their second and third power plays of the period, Boston put on more pressure, but as we’ve seen so often in these playoffs, no goals.

The Lightning outshot the Bruins in the period, 13-8.  The guys in the white-and-blue sweaters had the edge in play.

The Bruins got another power play early in the third period. They had a few chances, but yet again, came up empty on the scoreboard. When the Bolts got their chance with the man advantage, they converted. Marc-Andre Bergeron’s shot from the point beat Thomas to the stick side to make it 4-1. After that tally, the number of empty seats at TD Garden grew exponentially. Simon Gagne added an empty-netter. Johnny Boychuk scored for the Bruins in what would be the equivalent of garbage time.

Tampa Bay outplayed the Boston on this night. There is little doubt about that.  The Bruins have some work to do before Game 2 Tuesday night in Boston. But they lost the first game of the Montreal series at home, and we all know how that turned out.

Face off Tuesday is at 8 p.m.

May 14 2011

Tyler Seguin Scores his First Playoff Goal

By Matt Noonan

The Boston Bruins didn’t win Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but Tyler Seguin had an impressive first career playoff game with two goals.

Seguin, who did not play against the Montreal Canadiens or Philadelphia Flyers, played his first career playoff game Saturday and yes, he certainly proved that he deserves to be on the ice with the “big boys!”

Boston and Tampa Bay will play Game 2 at the TD Garden on Tuesday, face-off is scheduled for 8:00pm eastern.

May 14 2011

Noontime Sports the Radio Show (5/14/11)

Noontime Sports the Radio Show returned to the airwaves on Saturday May 14, as Matt Noonan and James Walsh discussed the Boston Bruins-Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Eastern Conference, as well as talked about the Boston Celtics and NBA Playoffs.

The guys were joined by Tim Rosenthal from the Hub of Hockey and Mike Patton from The Everyday Man’s Sports Blog.

Noontime Sports – Hour 1: 


Noontime Sports – Hour 2: 


May 13 2011

NHL Eastern Conference Finals Preview: Boston vs. Tampa Bay

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas has been hot, so expect that to continue against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday!

By Brian Willwerth 

Doesn’t it seem like forever since these teams last played? When the puck drops Saturday night, it will have been eight days since the Bruins took the ice in a meaningful game, while the Lightning have had a 10-day break. These two teams have taken similar paths to the conference finals. Both won their opening series in seven games. Both swept their favored, second-round opponents. Both feature outstanding goaltenders.

Start with the goalies: Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson. In these playoffs, these two are the best in save percentage and goals against average. Roloson has won eight straight games. Thomas’ streak is at five. While Thomas’ spectacular play has consistently made the highlight reel, Roloson should not be overlooked.

The Bruins will be without Patrice Bergeron, at least for the start of the series.  Tampa Bay will not have Pavel Kubina on defense. He’s one of three Bolts still remaining from the 2004 team that won the Cup. The other two are big-name veterans: Martin St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier.

Boston’s problems on the power play in the postseason have been well documented. The Bruins finally broke through in that category against the Flyers in Game 3, but overall this has been a weak spot. Tampa Bay’s power play has been much better; the Lightning has scored a power play goal in six of their eleven-playoff games. It’s something to keep an eye on if you’re a Bruins’ fan, flashing back to how important this was against Montreal. When it comes to killing penalties, both teams have been very good.

These teams met four times during the regular season, with the Bruins winning three of them. Of all the professional sports teams in Boston, the Bruins have risen to the top of the list, at least for the moment. Yes, the Red Sox are taking on the Yankees this weekend in the Bronx, but baseball is on the back burner for the time being.

The series begins Saturday night at TD Garden in Boston. I could easily see this series go seven games.