Rookie coaches enjoying chess match that comes in playoffs

Victor Hedman scored with 5:50 left in the second overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins and their fourth berth in the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals in six seasons on Monday night. Hedman beat goaltender Jaroslav Halak from the left circle, finishing a barrage that saw the Lightning outshoot Bruins 7-1 in the second OT. Tampa Bay improved to 5-0 in overtime games in this year’s playoffs.

The Boston Bruins had a relatively successful season, getting back to the playoffs after narrowly missing them the past two years. Sweeney listed the “middle of the [forward] lineup, transition-minded defensemen and the backup goaltender position” as places he had in mind for offseason upgrades. More specifically on Sweeney’s to-do list: a left wing to be paired with David Krejci, a revamping of a third line that underachieved far too often and another top-four defenseman capable of moving the puck to go along with a more dependable backup goaltender situation than the Jekyll and Hyde performance from Anton Khudobin last season.