BOSTON _ Steven Stamkos heard the whispers. He knew what was being said about him.
He knew that some questioned whether he showed up in the playoffs. He knew that some wondered if played small in big games. He knew that some doubted if he would ever be an impact player in the games that truly define a player's greatness: the playoffs.
He had an answer for all the doubters and haters Friday night by scoring what might turn out to be the biggest goal of his career.
And it just might turn out to be the biggest goal of the Lightning season.
Want a big goal? Here you go: Stamkos' patented one-timer with 7:04 left in the third period Friday night tied Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Bruins. And that set up Dan Girardi's overtime winner as the Lightning put a stranglehold on the series with a 4-3 victory. The win gives Tampa Bay a 3-1 series lead.
Tampa Bay can close out the series back at home Sunday afternoon in Game 5.
Just the day before Game 4, Stamkos sat at his stall and patiently answered questions that were polite, but essentially translated to: what the heck is wrong with you?
He had just two goals in these playoffs coming into Game 4. Both on the power play and one into an empty net. Not exactly game-breaking stuff.
But Stamkos dismissed the negativity and responded with a goal that saved the Lightning's night.
For the second game in the row, the Lightning could not have asked for a better start.
First Brayden Point continued his starring role in these playoffs. The little center has been the Lightning's best player in the playoffs and he turned in the flashiest Lightning goal, so far, of this postseason. He undressed Boston's legendary defenseman Zdeno Chara, making Chara look like a statue as he dipsy-doodled around him.
After initially being stopped by Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, Point banged home the rebound and gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead just 4:36 into the game. And just like Game 3, the Lightning stretched that lead to 2-0 when Nikita Kucherov, who has been all sorts of frustrated in the first three games, scored his sixth goal of the playoffs.
Kucherov ripped a one-timer past Rask on the power play and it looked as if the Lightning was on its way to putting this game _ and perhaps the series _ away.
But the Bruins didn't go away. Thanks to two power plays _ and a little luck _ the Bruins did what they could to make sure their season didn't go down without a fight. And again, it was two Lightning killers who made their presence felt.
David Pastrnak got things started for Boston by whacking in a rebound of an Andrei Vasilevskiy save to make it 2-1 before the end of the first.
Then Patrice Bergeron scored on the power play early in the second to make it 2-2.
Boston's luck came in when Kucherov hit a post and Stamkos, who must have felt snake bit at the time, was robbed on a breakaway.
Then things got real.
Not only did nastiness soon set in, but so did real pressure. For the first time in this series, you started to realize the importance of the outcome.
A Lightning victory would give them a 3-1 stranglehold. A Bruins victory would knot the series at 2-2.
Yet both teams responded with some of the best hockey at the most crucial time.
Big hits. Big saves. Big shots.
And a big-time play by the Killer B's. With the Lightning on the power play and a chance to take the lead, it was the Bruins who broke through when Marchand and Bergeron were sprung loose on a two-on-one. Marchand held, held and held, then made a perfect dish to Bergeron who deflected the puck over Vasilevskiy's shoulder to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead with 13:24 left.
But just when it looked like the Lightning were finished, a familiar star showed his face: Stamkos.
That set overtime and a thrilling finish to what is now a very thrilling series.
