Lightning at Bruins
The Tampa Bay Lightning look to rebound from one of their worst efforts of the season when they begin a three-game road trip against the Atlantic Division-rival Boston Bruins on Sunday afternoon. The Lightning had a total of 12 giveaways while allowing goals on the power play, during 4-on-4 action and while short-handed in a 5-3 loss to Columbus on Friday after winning five of their previous six.
“We were just red rotten,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper told reporters after the contest. “That was it. From start to finish. … We got taught a lesson by a team that worked way harder than us.” The Lightning could get a boost if top-pair defenseman Anton Stralman (upper body) can return Sunday after missing the last seven games, while Boston blue-liner - and captain - Zdeno Chara (lower body) is considered day-to-day after sitting out the last two contests. The Bruins have struggled on the other end of the ice, managing just four goals during their three-game losing streak. David Pastrnak is off to a strong start with 12 goals, but Boston has needed more contributors all season.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (13-8-1): Tampa Bay finally showed the full effect of not having the steady Stralman and captain Steven Stamkos (knee surgery) in the lineup Friday as the defense coughed up the puck constantly and the offense looked out of sync. Without Stamkos and wing J.T. Brown (upper body), Cooper continued to juggle his lines while dressing seven defensemen and 11 forwards. Nikita Kucherov has recorded 19 of his team-high 26 points in the last 14 games and Ondrej Palat has notched two goals and four assists in his last four contests.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (11-10-0): Brad Marchand, the team’s leading point producer with 18, left practice early Saturday after taking a shot off his leg. Boston can ill afford to lose Marchand, who is second on the team in goals (six) and one of only three players with a double-digit point total - along with Pastrnak (16) and David Krejci (12). Tuukka Rask (11-4-0, 1.67 goals-against average, .938 save percentage, three shutouts) is expected to be back in net after being rested in favor of Anton Khudobin on Friday.
OVERTIME
1. Boston C Dominic Moore, who played for the Lightning from 2010-12, is third on the team with five goals – one shy of last season’s total with the New York Rangers.
2. The Lightning have won their last two visits to Boston but have dropped three of the last four overall meetings after a 4-3 shootout setback on Nov. 3.
3. Tampa Bay entered Saturday ranked fourth in the league on the power play despite a 1-for-11 effort over its last three games.