Bruins at Lightning
The Boston Bruins calmed some nerves with two big victories before the All-Star break and begin a difficult 10-game stretch when they visit the Atlantic Division-rival Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. The Bruins dropped four in a row (0-3-1) as the heat on coach Claude Julien intensified, but earned 4-3 wins over Detroit (overtime) and Pittsburgh last week.
“Guys as a whole, as a team, we were physical,” Boston All-Star forward Brad Marchand told reporters after the Pittsburgh win Thursday. “We were being tight. That’s how we have to play. We have to play with emotion. It really drives our team.” The Lightning, who many experts picked to win the Stanley Cup, are sitting six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after a wildly inconsistent first 50 games. Tampa Bay returns home for the next four games after going 2-2-2 on a road trip that included wins over Los Angeles and Chicago along with a loss at Arizona, which has the second-least points in the league. “It’s certainly a mindset - you have to win these games because they’re all important,” Lightning left wing Alex Killorn told reporters of the homestand.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, TVAS, NESN (Boston), FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (25-21-6): Marchand, who Julien said was “lucky” to avoid suspension for a late trip on Detroit’s Niklas Kronwall last Tuesday, scored twice against Pittsburgh on Thursday and has 11 goals in his last 11 contests. David Pastrnak is one behind Marchand for the team’s goal-scoring lead with 20 - only one in the last 19 games - and has five points in the past three contests. Goaltender Tuukka Rask, who is 11-5-1 all-time against Tampa Bay, is tied for fifth in the league with 24 victories and owns a .928 save percentage with three shutouts on the road this season
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (22-22-6): Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stepped up after Ben Bishop struggled in Arizona and gained three points in the last two games while improving his save percentage to .940 over his past five contests. Right wing Nikita Kucherov leads the team in goals (19) and points (44) while fellow All-Star Victor Hedman leads the way with 31 assists, but the defenseman has gone without a point his last four games. Forward Brayden Point (15 points in 36 games) skated in practice Monday and nears a return to the lineup after missing the last month with an upper-body injury.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay C Valtteri Filppula boasts 32 points - third-most on the team and one more than all of last season.
2. Boston’s rookie D Brandon Carlo (lower-body) left Thursday’s game, but was a participant at practice Monday.
3. The Bruins won three straight and four of the last five meetings, including a 4-3 shootout triumph at Tampa Bay on Nov. 3.