Tampa Bay vs. Boston Game 4 live blog
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}11:47 After getting off to the exacty start they wanted, Tampa Bay just hit a huge rough patch. Defenseman Brett Clark misplayed an ill-advised back pass from Victor Hedman and Patrice Bergeron picked up the bounce off the end boards and stuffed it past Dwayne Rolson. Now, Boston has the lead and we all saw what they did with it last game. Tampa Bay must answer quickly. Goal, BOS 1-0.
10:26 Everybody has made a big deal out of Tampa Bay blocking shots, but Danny Paille just made a monster block and paid the price for it. Yet, he was back out the next shift and generated a scoring chance. He is a true underrated member of this Bruins team.
8:23 Tampa Bay vowed that it would make life tougher for Tim Thomas today and it has delivered on that promise. The Lightning are crowding Thomas every time they set up in the offensive end and they are digging for the puck even when it is covered. Thomas already showing signs of being frustrated as he just took several blocker-hand jabs at Adam Hall while play was still going on.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}6:54 Breathless. What a start to this game. Up-and-down action and great scoring chances. Boston's Tim Thomas made a huge save on one-timers by Sean BergenheIm and Steven Stamkos already. Dwayne Roloson, meanwhile, made a huge save on Dennis Seidenbedrg and saw his teammates clear another puck off the goal line. The tempo is amazing so far. Appears nobody has been thrown off by early start.
Start of first period
1:32 p.m. It will be interesting to see what kind of first 10 minutes we get from Lightning here today. They certainly don't want to go 3-1 in this series, so they don't want to give Boston any more confidence at the start of this game. And, let's not forget, the last time Tampa Bay lost two in a row, as they have now, the Lightning then reeled off eight straight wins -- a streak broken by Boston in Game 2. Today, the Bruins will likely have to try to absorb Tampa Bay's best push of this series. Oh yeah, by the way, the crowd is much louder today than it was for Game 3.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}1:23 p.m. The Lightning campaign for these playoffs is the simple phrase "All In." Just now on the video b oard, they did a nice bit about it, getting local celebrities to say they are All In. Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Bucs coach Raheem Morris, poker player John Racener, comedian Jeff Dunham and MC hammer, yes that MC Hammer, apparently are all All In. Too cool!
1:20 p.m. Welcome to St. Pete Time's Forum for Game 4 of the eastern Conference Finals. It is brutally hot and humid outside today, but a nice brisk temperature here inside. There appears to be one lineup change for the Lightning today and that is Dana Tyrell, the young center, in on the fourth line for Blair Jones.