Lightning strike in 2nd, advance to East finals

TAMPA, Fla. — The Lightning, with a primary assist from a team that handled them during the regular season, are back in the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in four years. Thank you, Bruins. “I guess I can say it now. Boston set the bar for us, and we played them three times late in the year,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after his team’s 3-1 victory over the Bruins on Sunday ended their second-round playoff series in five games.

“The first two times we played them, they literally manhandled us, and we knew if we were going to go anywhere when we made the playoffs, or if we made the playoffs, that we had to be as good as Boston,” Cooper added.

“We beat them 4-0 (in the last meeting). I think that gave us a little hit of confidence. I guess a lot of confidence. and, ultimately we carried that through into this playoff round.”

Brayden Point and J.T. Miller scored second-period goals and Anton Stralman added an empty-netter with 1:29 remaining to end any chance for a Bruins comeback.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots — 14 in the final period — for the Lightning, who rebounded from losing the series opener at home to eliminate in five games.

The Bruins won three of the four games between the teams during the regular season, finishing one point behind the Lightning for the Atlantic Division title and the No. 1 seed in the East.

The Bruins outlasted the Maple Leafs in seven games in the opening round of the playoffs. They scored six goals to beat the Lightning in Game 1, but had difficulty scoring after that.

Over the last three games, the Bruins failed to score an even-strength goal.

“You’ve got to give them credit. We’re a team that scored all year long with different players in and out of the lineup,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.

“We scored against Toronto, so it’s not like after 89 games we forgot how to score or not play the right way,” Cassidy added. “I think their ‘D’ corps is big and they move the puck. They did a good job of not allowing us to get inside.”

The Bruins played without defenseman Torey Krug, who injured his left ankle during Game 4.

They lost right winger David Backes with just under eight minutes remaining in the second period Sunday after he took a hard hit from Miller and didn’t return. the Bruins AP