Tampa Bay Lightning strike quickly in Game 3, beat Boston Bruins 4-1, lead playoff series 2-1

Between the birth of his first child in Tampa Bay and Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Boston, Yanni Gourde squeezed in what could be his last nap for a while. The Lightning forward spent the night with his wife and newborn daughter in the hospital on the off-day and flew to Boston on Wednesday. He missed the morning skate, but was waiting for his teammates at lunch. He received quite a greeting. Ondrej Palat scored twice and Gourde assisted on Tampa Bay's third goal in a 4-1 victory over Boston that gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead in the series. Palat scored twice in the first 3:19 of the game, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots to help Tampa Bay to its second win in a row since losing the series opener at home. Game 4 is Friday night. After Patrice Bergeron made it a one-goal game, Anthony Cirelli scored his first career NHL playoff goal to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead late in the first. Gourde provided an assist, chasing the puck into the zone before finding Cirelli in the slot. Tuukka Rask made 33 saves for Boston.