Giving In

Zdeno Chara and the Bruins blew a golden opportunity to close out the Lightning Wednesday night and now must play a winner-take-all Game 7 in Boston with a trip to the Finals on the line. 

Not even a hat trick from David Krejci could save the Bruins Wednesday night.

Victims of horrific special teams play and several back-breaking defensive collapses, Boston fought valiantly in Game 6 but no no avail, losing to Tampa 5-4 before a sell-out crowd of 21,426 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Forwards Teddy Purcell and Martin St. Louis scored two goals apiece for the Lightning, who also notched three power-play goals within a 12-minute-span late in the second period and early in the third period.

With the clutch victory, Tampa evens the Eastern Conference Finals 3-3 and forces a do-or-die Game 7 in Boston Friday night with the winner punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals.

"It all comes down to one game now," said Patrice Bergeron after the painful loss. "So it's about making sure we're keeping our chins up and heads up and make sure we're ready for that game."

Despite surrendering a goal to Purcell just 34 seconds into the game, the Black and Gold fought back to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Milan Lucic put the Bruins on the board first when he ripped a wrist shot from just outside the hashmarks that eluded Dwayne Roloson (16 saves) high, glove side. The goal marked the first point of the series for Lucic.

Then, with less than four minutes remaining in the opening period, Krejci put the Bruins on top with his first of three goals on the night.

However, the difference in the game was the second period. While the Bruins went scoreless in the middle frame, the Lightning scored a pair of power-play goals to take a 3-2 lead.

Then, just 34 seconds into the third period, Steven Stamkos notched a power-play goal of his own to extend Tampa's lead to 4-2.

Krejci would tip in a feed down low from Nathan Horton on the power-play midway through the final period to cut Tampa's lead to 4-3. But at that point, it was clear that Tampa's string of three power play goals within a 12 minute span decided the game for the Lightning.

"Obviously [special teams] was a difference maker," admitted Julien. "They scored three goals on the power play and it took us a long time to get our first one, and that certainly dictated the game."

The Lightning would reclaim their two goal lead just 29 seconds later to make it 5-3. Once again, it was St. Louis picking up the goal, his second of the game and league-leading 10th goal of the playoffs.

With just under eight minutes remaining in the period Krejci would complete the hat trick to cut Tampa's lead to 5-4. It marked the first hat-trick from a Bruin in the playoffs since Cam Neely accomplished the feat in 1991.

Suddenly, Boston began pouring it on and dominating the final ten minutes of regulation in search of the equalizer. They even pulled Thomas in favor of an extra attacker in the final minute but, in the end, came up just short.

Just like the Montreal series, the Bruins fail to close out an opponent and, as a result, must venture into the dangerous territory of a do-or-die Game 7.

All of a sudden, Boston's epic collapse in Game 4 is hanging over their heads like a death date on their playoff tombstone.

"The fourth win, they don't give it to you, as we learned once again," admitted Thomas, who finished with 21 saves after playing the game of his life in Game 5. "Not that we were looking for them to give it to us. It's just more proof that's the way it goes."

However, if the Bruins can hang their hats on anything, it's the fact that they've done well under these high-pressured, do-or-die scenarios thus far in the postseason.

"We've been in this situation before," added Thomas. "We were up 3-2 against Montreal on the road and couldn't close it out, so we went back home in Game 7 and got the job done."

So here we are, in late May, entering yet another one-game season.

But this time, the stakes couldn't be higher for the Bruins. Their season is on the line. A trip to their first finals appearance in 21 years is on the line. Their overall reputation is on the line.

Should the unthinkable happen and the Bruins lose, it would mark the fourth consecutive year that the've had their season end in a Game 7, but at a progressively deeper stage of the playoffs, making it that much tougher to swallow. Claude Julien would likely get the boot. Maybe even Peter Chiarelli, too.

But, if they win, the 2011 Bruins will be touted as Gods in the city of Boston, restoring pride to the Hub for the first time in a generation.

"You've got to be excited for it," admitted Milan Lucic. "You've got to enjoy it and you've go to be looking for to that challenge, because for almost all of us it's the biggest game of our careers. You've got to go out there, have fun and have no regrets."

Keep the faith and believe in the dream, Bruins fans.

We're living on a prayer that will change dramatically Friday night, one way or another.