Times staff, wires
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Bruce Arthur, National Post:
"The margin between these teams is narrow enough that the details matter, and for Boston, the details weren't good enough. It was another atypical game in a series full of them, as both goaltenders showed weakness one game after Boston's Tim Thomas played his finest game of the series."
Barry Melrose, ESPN:
"Even when Tampa doesn't score (on the power play), you think they're gonna score. It puts energy in the building, it puts energy in their play. It's a total reversal of Boston; they take the energy out of their game when they go on the power play."
Kevin Allen, USA Today:
"The No. 5-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning are the party crashers in the Eastern Conference playoffs that just won't leave."
Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe:
"No Teddy Bears Picnic this time. Your Bruins 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 (Friday night) would be unBearable. You don't get this close very often."
James O'Brien, Prohockeytalk.com:
"It seems unfair for the Bruins to place so much of a burden on their Vezina Trophy candidate, but it almost feels like they need (goalie Tim) Thomas to stand on his head to win most of these games. He's done that quite often, but the Bolts have too many talented forwards to bottle them up every night."
Mike Johnson, NHL network:
"Marty St. Louis was all over the ice. He played lots of minutes; lots of hard minutes and lots of effective minutes."
Chris Stevenson, Canada's QMI news agency:
"There will be a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference final. It will be because of Martin St. Louis. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward, who lives at the emotional epicenter of his team, had two goals and an assist in the Bolts' 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins Wednesday to force Game 7 Friday night at the TD Garden with a trip to the Stanley Cup final against the Vancouver Canucks at stake."