BY IAN MENDES
sportsnet.ca

Not even a 10-day break was enough to slow down Sean Bergenheim and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bergenheim continued his torrid scoring pace by notching his league-leading eighth goal of these playoffs, as the Lightning used a three-goal outburst in the first period to cruise to a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins in the opener of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night.

"Well, it's a good feeling, but to be honest, the best feeling is that we're winning," said Bergenheim, who has scored eight playoff goals, after scoring just 14 during the regular season. "You know, I'm obviously happy that I've been helping the team, but I think it's more of a line effort, our line that's been clicking.

Bergenheim's tally at 11:15 of the first period was followed by two quick goals from Brett Clark and Teddy Purcell - giving the Lightning three goals in just 1:25 - setting a new franchise record for the fastest three goals in a playoff game.

"It was big for us coming here getting those goals, especially in this building," said Lightning forward Simon Gagne, who scored an empty-net goal in his return to the lineup after missing the last three games with an upper body injury. "It's hard to win games here and it was good to get the start we did tonight."

Clark and Purcell's goals came unassisted, highlighting defensive breakdowns for the Bruins. Purcell was handed the puck in the slot after a glaring miscue by defenseman Tomas Kaberle and managed to slip it past a stunned Tim Thomas.

"The third goal was a surprise - a bad bounce goal. And that made it more difficult," admitted Thomas. "But that being said, it was a 3-1 game in the second period. If we would have won a period at a time, we would have still been in the game."

Boston was able to hold Tampa's trio of superstars - Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier - to just one assist on the evening, but it was to no avail. Once again, Tampa Bay's unheralded cast role players stepped up and delivered for Guy Boucher's squad.

"We got spread out scoring right now and it's easier for everyone," said Martin St. Louis, who collected a secondary assist on Saturday night. "You don't have to press to score. Does it take pressure off? Absolutely,"

Boston scored late in the first period, as rookie Tyler Seguin scored a beautiful goal by first deking Mike Lundin and then slipping the puck past Dwayne Roloson. For the 19-year-old Seguin, it marked his first-ever NHL playoff goal, coming in his first post-season contest. He drew into the lineup after centre Patrice Bergeron missed Game 1 with a concussion he sustained at the end of the Philadelphia series.

"We knew we had tons of time, but three goals in the first period - that's not our style, that's not Bruins hockey. That's something we're going to fix next game," said Seguin, who played just 9:38 of ice time despite picking up the goal and assisting on Johnny Boychuk's late tally.

After the teams combined for four goals and traded numerous offensive chances in the first period, the game quickly settled down in a scoreless second frame. The wide-open play in the opening period may have been a result of the lengthy layoffs both teams enjoyed since finishing off their respective second round series with sweeps. The Lightning hadn't played since dispatching the Washington Capitals on May 4, while this was Boston's first contest since they completed a sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers on May 6.

Boston's power play once again looked listless on Saturday night, failing to capitalize on any of their four opportunities. The Bruins power play was under heavy criticism in the first two rounds, when they failed to produce a single goal in their first nine games. Tampa Bay's penalty killing has been nearly flawless in this post-season, as they've allowed only three goals in 58 shorthanded chances.

The Lightning scored the only special teams goal on the evening late in the third period, as Marc-Andre Bergeron fired a power play goal past Thomas.

The Bruins waited 19 years to get back to the conference final, but now they'll have to wait at least another three days to get their first win in this round since 1992. Game 2 of this series will be played in Boston on Tuesday night before the scene shifts to Tampa Bay for the next two contests.

"The first one is behind us now. It's only one game, you don't want to get frustrated," said Bruins forward David Krejci. "We'll just take the positive from tonight's game."

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