Roloson, Lightning come up just one goal short

BOSTON (AP) ? Tim Thomas (FSY)    and Dwayne Roloson (FSY)    matched each other save for save for more than 50 minutes in the decisive seventh game of the Eastern Conference finals.

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  By Jim Rogash, Getty Images

  
  

  Dwayne Roloson made 37 saves in Game 7 against the Bruins. He needed to make 38.

By Jim Rogash, Getty Images

Dwayne Roloson made 37 saves in Game 7 against the Bruins. He needed to make 38.

They both needed to be perfect.

Only one of them was.

Nathan Horton (FSY)    beat Roloson with 7:33 left for the only goal of the game, and the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 on Friday night to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1990.

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  GAME REPORT: Bruins 1, Lightning 0

  
  


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  MOVING ON: Boston advances to Stanley Cup Final

  
  


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  PHOTO GALLERY: Best images from the NHL playoffs

  
  


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  SCHEDULE: Stanley Cup Final matchups, dates, times

  
  

"I don't think he could have stopped that puck, and I don't think he could have done better than he did tonight," Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. "To come back that strong in the seventh game, I think it's just a credit to the man."

Roloson stopped 37 shots in all as the Bruins dominated the game but couldn't convert any of their early scoring chances.

Roloson stopped Milan Lucic (FSY)    on a breakaway in the first period and stopped Mark Recchi (FSY)    twice in quick succession in the second, leaving the game goal- and penalty-free more than halfway through the third. He saved at least one shot with his face, leaving him shaking his head to get his equipment or his head straightened out.

"We had some great scoring chances on Roloson and he stoned us for, what, 55 minutes or something like that," Lucic said. "He did a great job all season long and was a big reason they made it to the Eastern Conference finals."

For Roloson, who was yanked twice in the series and benched for another game, it was a stellar performance but not the shutout he needed for the Lightning to advance.

"He played unbelievable. I don't know how many times shots got redirected with his head. Those are probably going in under the crossbar," forward Ryan Malone (FSY)    said. "Unfortunately, (we) couldn't get him a goal."

Thomas made only 24 saves in the game, but that was enough.

"He was outstanding again. We just couldn't put one in," Boucher said. "I think it was overtime the entire game, to be honest with you. That's how it felt, and I think the other team probably felt like that, too. It was for who was going to make that one mistake, and it was us."

It was still scoreless when Andrew Ference (FSY)    passed the puck to David Krejci (FSY)    on the left side and Horton slid around to the right, where he received Krejci's centering pass and delicately deflected it around Roloson's left pad into the net.

"It's hard to look at. One little defensive mistake," Boucher said. "They deserved that goal. They made it happen and they're going to the Stanley Cup finals."

Acquired from the New York Islanders on Jan. 1, Roloson started Tampa Bay's first 15 postseason games this year, though he was pulled from Game 2 and again in Game 4. Mike Smith (FSY)    started Game 5, a 3-1 Boston victory that put the Bruins within one win of clinching, but when it came time to stave off elimination Boucher went back to Roloson.

The 41-year-old goalie improved to 7-0 in his career in elimination games, but couldn't make it 8-for-8 with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line.

"It's always fun playing in Game 7s," Roloson said. "It's a big game for us tonight. ... Unfortunately, we came out with one less goal than what we needed."

After allowing 17 goals in his first five games this series, Roloson had his best performance of the series — good enough for almost any other night.

But this time he needed to be perfect.

"Roli played great for us. Really made some huge saves and kept us in there," forward Vincent Lecavalier (FSY)    said. "Since the first day he came onto our team, he has been a great leader. He has been real steady back there for us and gave us that confidence to be able to play and knowing that he is going to make the big saves."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Lightning finish sweep of Capitals, advance to East finals

TAMPA (AP) ? With time winding down, chants of "sweep, sweep, sweep" reverberated through the building, and the Tampa Bay Lightning kept pushing the Washington Capitals — all the way out of the NHL playoffs.

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  By Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

  
  

  Steve Downie (9) celebrates a third-period goal by Marc-Andre Bergeron, not pictured, during the Lightning's 5-3 win against the Capitals on Wednesday. Tampa Bay swept the series.

By Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

Steve Downie (9) celebrates a third-period goal by Marc-Andre Bergeron, not pictured, during the Lightning's 5-3 win against the Capitals on Wednesday. Tampa Bay swept the series.

Sean Bergenheim (FSY) scored two goals and Dwayne Roloson (FSY) stopped 33 shots, helping the streaking Lightning complete a series sweep of the top-seeded Capitals with a 5-3 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

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  GAME REPORT: Lightning 5, Capitals 3

  
  


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  SCHEDULE: Upcoming games in second round

  
  


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Playing on consecutive nights for the first time this postseason, the fifth-seeded Lightning extended their winning streak to seven games and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since their 2004 Stanley Cup championship season.

"We're definitely happy, but we're not popping champagne or anything," Lightning forward Ryan Malone (FSY) said. "We know what our goal is, and we have to keep going and stay even keel. We haven't done anything yet."

For Alex Ovechkin (FSY) and the Capitals, it was yet another bitter postseason disappointment.

Rookie Michal Neuvirth (FSY) stopped 32 shots for Washington, but Bergenheim scored twice in eight minutes during the second period to build a 3-1 lead that sent the sellout crowd of 20,835 into celebratory mode long before it was over.

"It just seemed like they had an answer for everything that we threw at them," Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner (FSY) said. "That's kind of the tough part. We didn't get rewarded for everything that we threw at them."

The Lightning's big three of Martin St. Louis (FSY), Vincent Lecavalier (FSY) and Steven Stamkos have elevated their games, but so has Bergenheim, who has a team-leading seven goals through two rounds. St. Louis' sixth goal of the playoffs, with 3:08 remaining, finished Tampa Bay's scoring.

Ryan Malone and Marc-Andre Bergeron (FSY) added goals for the Lightning, who have not lost since dropping into a 3-1 hole against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.

Bergenheim was eighth on the Lightning with 14 regular-season goals, however he's been much more of an offensive force in ousting the Penguins and Lightning.

It's something coach Guy Boucher, who has Tampa Bay in the conference finals in his first season as an NHL coach, has come to expect of the forward.

Washington vs. Tampa Bay

Lightning win series 4-0

Game 1: Tampa Bay 4, Washington 2

Game 2: Tampa Bay 3, Washington 2 (OT)

Game 3: Tampa Bay 4, Washington 3

Game 4: Tampa Bay 5, Washington 3

"Every top game, every important game, every game that there is some pressure, he was in it. He was one of our better players," Boucher said. "Some people freeze under pressure, some people fly away, and some people fight. He fights."

Marco Sturm (FSY), John Erskine (FSY) and John Carlson (FSY) scored for the Capitals. Ovechkin had an assist on Sturm's goal, but couldn't find the net with any of five shots at Roloson, the 41-year-old, midseason acquisition who has been a key factor in Tampa Bay's surprising success against Pittsburgh and Washington.

"He was outstanding," Ovechkin said.

The Lightning won the first two games in Washington, then pushed the Capitals to the brink of elimination by winning Game 3 in Tampa on Tuesday night.

They were expecting the toughest game of the series Wednesday, calling the Capitals a proud team that would not be taken lightly. Washington felt the first three games could have gone either way, with Ovechkin insisting after Game 3 that the series was far from over and that he expected his team to come back and win.

"We were hungry, and we wanted to win," Ovechkin said. "We wanted to win. They wanted to win. Somebody had to lose. I don't know what to say right now."

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  EXTRA, EXTRA: Plenty of overtime in playoffs

  
  

Malone scored with Ovechkin in the penalty box for charging, giving Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 12:37 of the first period. The Lightning have not lost a game in the playoffs in which they've scored first, however Washington proved again to be resilient after falling behind early.

The Capitals tied it late in the first, scoring for only the second time in 17 power-play opportunities in the series. Jason Arnott (FSY) and Ovechkin assisted on Sturm's goal, however Washington couldn't build on the momentum during a second period in which it was outshot 17-10.

Bergenheim's sixth and seventh goals of the playoffs put the Lightning up 3-1. The Caps tightened it with Erskine's unassisted goal at 13:40 of the second, but Roloson answered every challenge after that.

"It's very frustrating. I don't think any of us saw this coming down, happening like it did. Probably the last thing that was in our mind, but you have to give them credit," Capitals forward Mike Knuble (FSY) said. "They played well, and they held their own when they had to. And really, when they got their chances they capitalized. It was pretty amazing how well they could do it."

Notes: The Lightning have won eight consecutive postseason games against the Capitals, dating to the first round in 2003. ... Washington D Mike Green (FSY), who left during the third period Tuesday night with what the Capitals described as a lower body injury, didn't play in Game 4. ... Tampa Bay LW Simon Gagne (FSY) and D Pavel Kubina (FSY) sat out for the third consecutive game because of undisclosed upper body injuries. They are day-to-day. ... St. Louis, Lecavalier and Kubina are the only players remaining on the Lightning roster from the Stanley Cup championship team.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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