Lightning at Bruins
The Boston Bruins attempt to complete their surge to the top of the Atlantic Division when they host the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in a battle of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are 3-0-3 in their last six games after a 5-4 shootout loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday to pull within one point and have won seven of the last eight meetings against the Lightning, including the first two matchups this season.
“I don’t think we should overthink that,” Boston forward David Pastrnak told reporters after scoring for the third straight game Tuesday. “It’s another game and we just have to play our game. We’ve been playing good lately, so just keep playing that way and we’ll see what happens.” The Bruins play seven times in the last 11 days of the regular season, including a trip to Tampa Bay on Tuesday, and the Lightning have six games left after going 3-4-0 in the last seven. Tampa Bay leads the league in scoring at 3.51 goals per game, but has scored only once each in the last two contests after a 4-1 loss to Arizona on Monday night while getting outshot 35-20. “It’s a stretch where it’s not going so good,” Lightning center Brayden Point told the Tampa Bay Times. “It’s bound to happen at one point. You can’t play 82 perfect games. I think we’re not in the same groove that we were, but we’ve got time to get it back.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, TVA; FS Sun (Tampa Bay), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (51-21-4): Captain Steven Stamkos (27 goals, 86 points) is expected back in the lineup after missing Monday’s contest with a lower-body injury and looks to snap a nine-game goal drought. Right wing Nikita Kucherov has fallen six points behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (102) in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, but scored four times in the last five contests. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has a league-leading 42 wins, is expected back in net after being rested Monday but owns an 0-3-1 record lifetime against the Bruins while allowing at least three goals in seven of his last eight games overall.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (47-17-11): Left wing Brad Marchand continues to produce with two goals and five assists over the last three games and sits three points away from his career high of 85 points last season. Ryan Donato, afforded an opportunity with fellow forwards David Backes, Rick Nash and Jake DeBrusk out with injuries, has three goals along with two assists in his first five NHL contests. Zdeno Chara, who signed a one-year contract extension Wednesday, and fellow defenseman Charlie McAvoy have been out injured as well, and blue liner Matt Grzelcyk left Tuesday’s game with an upper-body ailment.
OVERTIME
1. The 21-year-old Pastrnak is three points away from 200 in the NHL and three goals shy of his career high of 34.
2. Tampa Bay F J.T. Miller boasts seven goals and six assists with a plus-2 rating in 13 games since being acquired from the New York Rangers.
3. Boston D Torey Krug, who has seven points in the last four games, needs one to top his career high of 14 goals set in 2013-14.