By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer
Friday, May 20, 2011
TAMPA — Bruins C Patrice Bergeron, second on the team in scoring in the playoffs, said he felt 100 percent Friday, one day after appearing in his first game of the series and first in nearly two weeks after suffering a concussion.
Bergeron said he knew he was ready to play and didn't worry about feeling any post-concussion symptoms.
"I felt good right away," said Bergeron, who took a regular shift and played more than 19 minutes.
Bergeron's most notable appearance was in the faceoff circle, where he won 18 of 28 draws.
"Patrice looked like a guy who hadn't missed a step," Bruins coach Claude Julien said.
HEY 19: Rookie Tyler Seguin, 19, has made a splash in this series with three goals and three assists in three games — the first three postseason games of his NHL career. But it's a tad bittersweet because he is doing all this damage against one of his idols — Lightning GM Steve Yzerman.
Seguin, the second pick in last summer's draft, wears the No. 19 in part because that was Yzerman's number with the Red Wings. Growing up, Seguin said he had two Yzerman posters on his wall and a few items signed by Yzerman.
"It's a difficult situation because I look up to him, but he's the other team's GM," Seguin said with a smile. He also admitted it was "pretty cool" to be playing well while his favorite player is watching.
WATCH YOUR ELBOWS: The most controversial moment of Thursday's Game 3 was when Lightning D Marc-Andre Bergeron was given a two-minute penalty for elbowing after a hit on David Krejci. Replays appeared to show Bergeron hit Krejci with his shoulder. And Lightning coach Guy Boucher gave the officials an earful in a very animated outburst.
"I felt like I looked," Boucher said. "It was just the heat of the moment. I felt the previous game there were a lot of penalties that we didn't deserve and that probably carried over (to Thursday). ... When you look at the replay, I think it was a ... clean check. But I thought the referees did a very good job. ... It was a playoff game well managed by players and referees."
For the record, the Bruins had no issues with the hit either.
"It was a good hit," Julien said. "The league is very sensitive to head issues. So sometimes they're making a call. And maybe it wasn't the right call."
FACING OFF: One area the Lightning will look to improve today is faceoffs. It has lost 78 of 138 in the past two games, including 37 of 65 in Game 3.
"The funny thing is that we did a great job in the first game," said Boucher, whose team won 41 of 67 in Game 1. "It's our job to make sure that we get at least closer to 50 (percent) and work our way after that and get above 50 so that they don't get more than half the chances to start with the puck. It definitely makes a difference."
St Petersburg Credit cards Peter Atherton Republicans Pakistan cricket betting scandal Mergers and acquisitions
No comments:
Post a Comment