TAMPA, Fla. — Goaltending and defense finally prevailed and the Boston Bruins liked it.

Tim Thomas made 31 saves for his first playoff shutout this season and second overall, Andrew Ference and David Krejci scored, and the Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

“Tonight’s game probably resembled a lot more of what I think everybody expected from this series, two teams that make it hard for you to score,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “I thought our team was very good in regards to that. We made some stronger plays and better decisions and seemed a little bit more aware out there of what was going on. Comparing it to last game, where I thought it was pretty sloppy, I thought we bounced back well.”