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Lightning Still Can't Get Over Hump In Beantown

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 19, 2007

Updated: 10/19/2007 01:12 am

BOSTON - There's just something about Beantown that stinks for the Lightning.

Looking to rebound from a poor showing five days earlier, Tampa Bay just couldn't get over its own version of a Boston curse in a 4-1 loss to the Bruins on Thursday night.

The loss is the 17th in Boston in 28 all-time trips to the Massachusetts capital, where the Lightning have won just twice and only once in the past 13 seasons. Tampa Bay dropped to 2-17-9 all-time in Boston Garden/TD Banknorth Garden.

Marco Sturm scored twice for the Bruins, while Tim Thomas, the league leader in goals-against average, stopped 35 shots for Boston, with Brad Richards getting the only Tampa Bay goal. Since starting the season 3-0, the Lightning have lost two in a row.

'I thought we competed hard. I thought our wall play was much better in both ends of the rink,' Lightning coach John Tortorella said. 'From late in the first period, we did a lot of good things as far as controlling the play, we just couldn't score.'

With the Bruins playing their home opener following a five-game western road trip to start the season, Boston came out ready to go, putting the pressure on the Lightning early.

Peter Schaefer started things off when he stuck his leg out and redirected an Andrew Ference point shot past Lightning goalie Johan Holmqvist 3:48 into the game. Then late in the period, Filip Kuba tried a long pass that resulted in an icing call with 15 seconds left. Patrice Bergeron beat Richards on the faceoff, getting the puck back to Ference at the right point, where he dished to Sturm along the right boards. Sturm fired a slap shot through a four-player screen into the net with 10 seconds left in the period.

'That hurt because I thought the second half of that first period we started turning around our game,' Tortorella said. 'Kubs tries to make a long pass to get the icing and then it ends up in the back of your net. It was tough because we were getting going.

Tampa Bay wasn't fazed by the course of events at the end of the first 20 minutes and carried some momentum into the second period. The lead was cut in half when rookie Mike Lundin sent a wrist shot toward the goal that was knocked out of the air by a defender. The puck dropped right to Richards for his third goal of the season 1:45 into the second period. The Lightning carried the momentum the rest of the period, holding Boston to three shots while peppering Thomas with 15, but they were unable to get the tying goal.

'We just couldn't get that second goal,' Lightning alternate captain Marty St. Louis said. 'We had our chances, but they are just chances. Who cares about chances?'

Defenseman Mark Stuart regained the two-goal lead for the Bruins midway through the third period as the trailer on a 3-on-2 break. Stuart made his move down left wing and took a pass from Marc Savard at the 9:49 mark. Sturm finished Tampa Bay off with 3:41 left to make Thomas' effort stand up for Boston.

'He did beat us,' Richards said of Thomas. 'But their team beat us, too. We outplayed them in the second period but we just couldn't score that second one. Goalies are going to do that sometimes.'

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

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