Bruins at Lightning
After seeing their nine-game winning streak against one Sunshine State representative come to a halt, the Boston Bruins look to continue another gaudy stretch when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. The Bruins saw their skid reach four games (0-2-2) with a 2-1 shootout loss to Florida on Saturday, allowing Ottawa to inch within one point of them in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston attempts to right the ship versus Tampa Bay, against which it won two meetings this season and 10 straight overall since dropping a 6-1 decision on March 13, 2012.
Bruins rookie David Pastrnak and Lightning captain Steven Stamkos each have scored three goals in the first two matchups this season. Stamkos also netted his team-leading 40th goal in Tampa Bay's 3-1 victory over Detroit on Friday, helping the Lightning move within four points of first-place Montreal in the Atlantic Division. The late tally gave Stamkos 66 points, one more than Tyler Johnson for the team lead.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, TVA, NESN (Boston), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (36-24-12): Patrice Bergeron scored on the power play Saturday to reach the 20-goal plateau for the sixth time in his career. The reigning Selke Trophy winner has tallied once this season versus the Lightning and also netted the decisive goal in the shootout to lift Boston to a 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay on March 12. "Yeah, (winning) the shootouts are huge, but finding a way in the first 60 or 65 minutes is even more important," Bergeron said after Saturday's loss.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (44-21-7): With 35 wins, Ben Bishop resides two victories shy of the franchise record he set last season. The 28-year-old has yielded just seven goals in his last five starts (4-0-1) but owns an 0-3-2 career record versus Boston with a 3.40 goals-against average. Alex Killorn notched an assist in a 4-2 win over Montreal on Monday and scored versus Detroit four days later to get within three points of 100 for his career.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay leads the league with 28 home victories.
2. Bruins D Dougie Hamilton suffered an undisclosed injury on Saturday, leaving his availability in question against the Lightning.
3. Tampa Bay D Victor Hedman has recorded one goal and three assists in his last two games.