Tampa Bay erased a third-period deficit on the road against a playoff-seeded Boston team, winning on an empty-net-pressure goal with 95 seconds left. The difference between these Atlantic Division rivals came down to which team controlled the final 20 minutes and whose goaltender gave them a margin to work with.
β‘TURNING POINT
Hagel's equalizer at 6:37 of the third dissolved Boston's one-goal cushion and forced the Bruins to defend rather than manage. The tie immediately transferred territorial pressure to Tampa Bay, who had already outshot Boston and now held a psychological edge in a game they'd controlled structurally for two periods.
πWHY TBL WON
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Tampa Bay dominated possession indicators β 24 shots to Boston's 20, 8 takeaways to Boston's 5, and a third period where they scored twice while suppressing all Boston offense.
β’
Vasilevskiy conceded 1.00 goal fewer than league-average on 20 shots β in a 2-goal game, that margin was decisive.
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Tampa Bay's third-period structure converted two even-strength chances while denying Boston any response, reflecting superior late-game zone control.
πWHY BOS LOST
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Boston's faceoff dominance β 61.9% on 42 draws β never translated into sustained offensive zone time, making possession the wrong metric for their failures.
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Swayman conceded 0.40 goals fewer than league-average on 24 shots, meaning Boston's goaltending held, but the skaters in front gave Tampa Bay the cleaner chances.
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Neither power play converted in a one-goal game, leaving Boston without the cushion to absorb Tampa's third-period push.
Three Stars
Emil Lilleberg1st
TBL, D
1G21:03 TOI+12 hits
A defenceman scoring the game-winning goal at 18:25 in regulation illustrates how thoroughly Tampa Bay's blue line drove the third-period outcome.
He kept Boston competitive through two periods, but the final 95 seconds exposed the team's inability to protect a lead without the skaters securing it.
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Tampa Bay won this game in the third period because their structure was better β Boston's faceoff dominance was the one edge they held, and it decided nothing.
