Ference/By S. Bradley

TAMPA — Andrew Ference’s fingers stayed down just like his shot, which gave the Bruins an insurance goal tonight.

Ference’s slap shot from the left point went through a Chris Kelly screen and then through Tampa Bay goaltender Dwayne Roloson’s 5-hole with 8:12 elapsed in the third period of Boston’s 2-0 win at the St. Pete Times Forum.

With their win Game 3, the Bruins now lead the series 2-1.

Ference limited himself to a normal stick-raise salute as his goal celebration. Back in the first round, Ference famously gave the crowd in Montreal “unintentional bird” after a goal in the Bruins’ Game 4 win. Ference got off with just a fine.

“I kept them down pretty good there. They all stayed down this time,” said Ference about his fingers, especially his middle ones.

Ference and the rest of his teammates had been struggling to get shots through the Lightning defense early in the series. Tonight Tampa Bay blocked just nine shots, and one that avoided the Lightning’s would-be blockers was his second goal of the playoffs.

“There’s positives and negatives to it,” said Ference about shot blocking. “Ask any goalie, and there’s ones that go off shin pads, whether it hits one of their guys and sits there for a rebound or gets a deflection and goes in. It’s nice to get blocks, but they cause goals too. So you throw enough at the net, you get lucky.”

The always modest Ference chalked his goal up to luck, but there was skill involved too. Just no profanity this time.