Lightning strike in Game 3 win, lead series

In Toronto, the Tampa Bay Lightning answered the bell on Wednesday evening with a 7-1 win over the Boston Bruins to take the lead in  their series, 2-1. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves to get the win.

“Come on, let’s be honest, this is an aberration,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said, referring to the final score. “This doesn’t happen in playoff hockey. They’re the Presidents’ Trophy champions. You turn the page on this one just like you turn the page on an overtime thriller. You can’t hang your hat on that one.

“When a team has a clunker, you can’t hang your hat on that one either. They’re both just one win, and we’re only halfway there. It’s a funny game. You can’t ride the emotions too high or too low.”

Alex Killorn struck for two goals n the win.

“In these games when you get up six goals in the end, the type of hockey that’s played is not the hockey that is going to be played on Friday,” Killorn said. “You don’t want to pick up any bad habits in that sense. We kind of have to switch gears, get back to playing the type of hockey we were playing at the beginning of the game and just adjust.”

Nikita Kucherov had a goal and four points on the night, and Ondrej Palat added a goal and two points for the Bolts.

“We are going to have to move on from this game,” the Bruins’ Zdeno Chara said. “Obviously, not our best game. We realize that was one of those games that nobody wants to look at, but definitely something we have to move forward from and get ready for the next one.”

Brad Marchand had Boston’s only goal in the game when he made it 3-1 in the second period.

“It’s over. We’re going to focus on Game 4,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “A loss is a loss. They’re up 2-1. I think we’ve got a good group in there. I know we’ve got a good group in there. They’re resilient. So like I said, we’ll lick our wounds tomorrow and get away from the rink, and get ready for Game 4.”

Mikhail Sergachev, Yanni Gourde and Brayden Point also scored for Tampa.

[WATCH: All Lightning vs. Bruins highlights]

Jaroslav Halak  got the start, but was relieved midway through the second period. after making just 12 saves.

Dan Vladar made his NHL debt in relief and made 12 saves in a mop up role.

“He was obviously put in a tough position,” Chara said. “But I think he made some big saves for us.”