Behind a Jimmy Hayes shootout winner, unbeatable Bruins sweep in Florida

When Brandon Carlo insisted that he scored a goal, to the disbelief of the other 19,000 people in Amalie Arena on Thursday night, my initial reaction was to sell my telelvision to a pawn shop. But I regrouped and began to believe the 19-year-old defenseman. Which, after a few seconds, proved to be a wise choice. Carlo had indeed scored, and the Bruins, for the fourth straight contest, struck first.

Carlo’s second career goal was soon followed by Ryan Spooner’s powerplay goal on the backend of a four-minute minor to Lightning forward J.T. Brown. Jon Cooper, pouting and screaming about the genuine rudeness of the galapagos tortoise, challenged the goal. Brad Marchand’s zone-entry some 1.2 million years before the goal was reviewed. Ultimately, following a multi-minute delay, the replay was deemed inconclusive, and the goal stood.

Victor Hedman brought Tampa back within one, launching a Tre Kronor missile past a screened Rask. Boy, that Hedman sure es taliente!

When the period ended, I lost power. Not instantaneous, but a few moments after Billy Jaffe began talking to Dale and Barry, everything went black.

I’m aware of this much, however:

• Patrice Bergeron scored in the second period, his second goal of the year and second point of the evening (assist on the Carlo goal).
• Tyler Johnson, a nice boy who played for the Spokane Chiefs, scored for Tampa.
• After Johnson’s goal, and if my math is correct, it was 3-2.
• Johnson struck again in the third period. It was apparently reviewed for either a high-stick or because someone threw a living flamingo at Rask and it tried to bite him. I’m assuming it was the former, but my source was adamant on the latter, so who actually knows.
• Jimmy Hayes scored the shootout winner. I know, crazy, right? Its almost like he’s actually good at hockey and not just an easy scapegoat for people.
• Claude Julien addressed the media after his teams third straight victory dressed as Dave Crabtree, the protagonist from NBC’s shortly lived sitcom My Mother the Car.

The Bruins return to action Saturday, hosting the New York Rangers at TD Garden. Puck drop is 7 pm.