Boston Bruins forward Nick Ritchie was handed a five-minute major for boarding Tampa Bay Lightning forward Yanni Gourde during the second period of Game 4 on Saturday.

Gourde remained on the ice for several moments before heading to the dressing room under his own power. The 28-year-old returned for the start of the third period.

Victor Hedman capitalized on the ensuing five-minute power play to extend the Lightning lead. Tampa Bay went on to win 3-1.

Ritchie answered the bell when challenged, dropping his mitts with Gourde's linemate Barclay Goodrow minutes into the third frame.

Following the contest, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy voiced his opinion on the play.

"Good player. Clever player, obviously," Cassidy said, according to Boston Hockey Now's Jimmy Murphy. "Got them on the power play for five minutes. Finished the game with no problems."

Ritchie, who led all players with 12 penalty minutes in the contest, said he was just trying to impose his physicality and didn't mean to injure Gourde.

"I had no intent to put a guy on the ice and injure anybody ... I'm just playing my game. That's part of it," he said, according to NHL.com's Wes Crosby.

The Lightning now own a 3-1 series lead and can advance to the Eastern Conference Final with a win Monday in Game 5.

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Ondrej Palat scored twice and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1 in Game 4 of their second-round matchup Saturday.

The Lightning secured a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, moving within one victory of advancing to the Eastern Conference Final for the fourth time in the last six years.

Tampa Bay won again without captain Steven Stamkos and workhorse defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who remain out due to injuries. Stamkos hasn't played since Feb. 25, and McDonagh has missed the last three contests.

Game 5 is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

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Alain Vigneault is owning up to his ignorance.

The Philadelphia Flyers head coach acknowledged Saturday that he made a mistake Thursday by not being informed about player walkouts and league postponements, which were initiated in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

"I never bothered to ask or checked with anyone (about) what was going on in the world, or the NBA. I am guilty of that," Vigneault told reporters in a prepared statement Saturday. "I was totally focused on our next game. Like I said at the 12 o'clock press conference (Thursday), I am for equality, and I am for social justice.

"I want to be part of the solution, I want to help society in any way I can."

Vigneault explained that he was occupied by meetings, a COVID-19 test, and other work in his hotel room on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning after the Flyers defeated the New York Islanders to even their second-round series.

After speaking to the media and having his pregame meal Thursday, Vigneault said he saw players from the four remaining Eastern Conference teams talking amongst themselves, which gave him an inkling that "something was going on." One of Philadelphia's players texted Vigneault telling him they were not going to play that night.

Vigneault thanked those who supported him since his previous comments, adding that he hopes they stay safe, while sending a message to those who criticized him.

"To all of the people in the last 48 hours who have questioned my honesty, my integrity, and my social commitment, I want to say, you also stay safe," he said.

On Thursday, Vigneault said he's been focusing exclusively on hockey since the Flyers eliminated the Montreal Canadiens, adding that he really had "no idea what's going on in the outside world."

Several hours after Vigneault's remarks Thursday, the NHL postponed its games through Friday at the request of the players and in conjunction with the Hockey Diversity Alliance.

On Wednesday, the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks started the movement by refusing to play that evening. The team's statement forced the league to delay its games through Friday, and several MLB teams ultimately did the same before the NHL followed suit one day later.

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Athletes from across sports have taken to social media following the death of Chadwick Boseman. The 43-year-old, who starred as Jackie Robinson in "42" and the Marvel blockbuster "Black Panther," died on Friday following a four-year battle with colon cancer.

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The NHL picks up again on Saturday with a three-game slate following a two-day hiatus. On the last night of hockey we split our picks once again, hitting the Lightning moneyline, but losing with the under.

Staying away from unders here, let's get the 2-0.

Philadelphia Flyers (-110) @ New York Islanders (-110)

Not to diminish the point of the two-day pause by using it to cap games, but the fact of the matter is the couple of days off halted any momentum the Flyers built up in Game 2. And the Islanders are feeling it right now: despite losing the last game in overtime, they sure didn't make it easy, tying the game after falling into a 3-0 hole in the first period.

It's got to be a daunting feeling playing against New York right now. When they get up a couple goals it's essentially game over, and when they fall behind by a few they still find a way back. You just can't kill this team off.

In the Game 1 win, the Isles controlled 59.62% of the expected goal share, and they controlled 59.85% of the share in Game 2 despite the loss. This team is just playing better in every area right now - including in goal where Semyon Varlamov has an absurd .954 save percentage at five-on-five since the restart - and there's no conceivable logic to truly justify taking the Flyers in a pick'em.

Pick: Islanders (-110)

Vegas Golden Knights (-200) @ Vancouver Canucks (+170)

No matter what you throw at them, these Canucks won't go down easy. They survived another onslaught in Game 2 to even the series, this time getting the goaltending they've become accustomed to from Jacob Markstrom. Timely scoring - which has been a theme for the Canucks in these playoffs - played a key role in the win, but against a team like the Knights, who are stronger and deeper, it's hard to consistently rely on that.

Over a seven-game series the cream usually rises to the top, and while the Canucks did well to steal Game 2, it won't be a common theme. Vegas dominated the expected goals share outside of the first period of Tuesday's loss, and frankly that should come as little surprise.

Expect a spirited response from the Knights here following the loss. They were caught a bit flat out of the gate in Game 2 after a dominating display in Game 1, but that won't be the case here as they strike first and set the tone for another convincing win.

Pick: Knights -1.5 (+140)

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper believes the players' league-wide unification - which paused games for two days to help combat racial injustice - is a big step in the right direction for the NHL.

"The league's learning just like everyone else, and the league's in a better place today than it was a couple months ago, and definitely than it was a couple years ago," Cooper said during his media availability Friday.

The NHL was under fire Wednesday night after proceeding with it's scheduled games despite the NBA, WNBA, and MLB calling off contests to protest the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The Lightning played Game 3 of their series versus the Boston Bruins that night, and after Tampa's win, Cooper said the NHL needs to take notice of racial injustice.

He added Friday that since the victory, his club hasn't focused on hockey at all.

"I'll tell you one thing, after coming off back-to-back wins over the Bruins, I don't think we've even talked about that, which is rare in a playoff year," Cooper said. "Clearly our attention has been elsewhere, and justifiably."

Players from all the active second-round teams, along with the Hockey Diversity Alliance, opened dialogue Thursday and opted to delay playing all games until Saturday.

Afterward, there was a press conference in each bubble city where several players delivered powerful messages, including Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves, who said he believes the statement he and his peers made is "going to last."

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The NHL is investigating an allegation regarding former Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon's conduct in the Toronto bubble, deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

Tallon is said to have used a racial slur, reports Florida Hockey Now's George Richards.

The Panthers told Richards they would not comment, and Tallon hasn't responded to Richards' attempts to contact him.

Florida and Tallon - who was the team's GM and president of hockey operations - parted ways Aug. 10, three days after the New York Islanders eliminated the Panthers in the qualifying round.

However, Tallon's departure had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation, a team source told Richards. The NHL was only recently made aware of the alleged incident, and it subsequently informed the club.

Tallon spent a decade with the Panthers after serving as the Chicago Blackhawks' GM from 2005-09.

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