Times staff
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Bob McKenzie, TSN.ca:
"The Tampa Bay Lightning game plan going into Saturday's game was to get a lot of bodies and a lot of pucks to the blue paint and try to disrupt (Bruins goalie) Tim Thomas. … Early on, you could see Thomas was a little rattled with the amount of traffic he was getting and the amount of pokes and prods he got. He was complaining to the referees, coming up and throwing the blocker on guys. And as the game wore on, it just looked as though they took him off his edge ever-so-slightly. That paved the way for Tampa Bay to come back from a 3-0 deficit."
Corey Masisak, NHL.com:
"Getting Teddy Purcell for Jeff Halpern is officially the second best move of the Brian Lawton era (behind drafting Steven Stamkos, of course)."
Brian Stubits, CBSSports.com:
"Before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, the fans at the St. Pete Times Forum were shown a video, the screen at one point simply saying, 'Never count us out.' It would be wise to heed that advice."
Jason Murphy, ESPN.com/boston:
"For the second straight game, the Bruins power play failed to convert as they went 0-for-2. One significant failed power play came at the beginning of the second period when the Bruins were still up 3-0. If they had scored there, the Lightning comeback might have never happened."
Barry Melrose, ESPN.com:
"(Bruins goalie) Tim Thomas got sloppy. Once you get into a defensive mind-set (after going up 3-0), it's hard to change from defense to offense (after being tied 3-3)."
Bob Ryan, Boston Globe:
"A very discouraging loss for the Bruins and their fans. However, you have to look at the big picture. The Bruins came (to Tampa) needing a win, and they got it. You have to remember that the Bruins weren't exactly favored to win this series. I think everyone concerned would be happy at 2-2 coming home for Game 5."
Steve Harris, Boston Herald:
"The Bruins were so good early but just the opposite later. And suddenly their path to the Stanley Cup final doesn't look nearly as clear."