After snapping a six-game losing streak over the weekend, the Boston Bruins will bid to keep the momentum going when they return home to meet the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second time in less than a week on Tuesday night.
The Lightning — who are 3-0-1 in their last four following a four-game skid — began the head-to-head season series with a 4-1 Thursday win in Tampa, moving them in front of the Bruins by two points in the Atlantic Division standings with four games still in hand.
The Bruins bounced back from the Tampa loss in the finale of their brief Sunshine State swing, beating the Florida Panthers 4-3 in overtime on Saturday. Despite being outshot 43-18 and losing a regulation win with three seconds left, David Pastrnak scored with two seconds to go in the extra session to cap his third multi-point effort in five games (two goals, one assist).
“What a big win for us,” Pastrnak said. “We needed it.”
Neither team may have had its best in Sunrise, but Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco believed that goaltender Jeremy Swayman was “the difference in the game.” Swayman registered a season-high 40 saves, moving his save percentage to .919 across his last seven outings.
“The goalie played very well and that’s what you need sometimes when you are going through the situation we are,” Sacco said.
The Bruins look to build upon the last-second win and Swayman’s outstanding effort, but they will likely do so with a new face in the forward lineup.
Vinni Lettieri was recalled Monday from AHL affiliate Providence as Mark Kastelic will miss his second straight game with an upper-body ailment. The 29-year-old Lettieri, who played 46 games for the Minnesota Wild last season, has been a point-per-game player in the AHL.
“We’re looking at a little bit of a speed element there,” Sacco said. “His confidence level right now is pretty high, so we’re hoping that carries over to our group. … He’s deserving of the opportunity.”
Tampa Bay began its three-game road trip with a weekend back-to-back, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Sunday, a day after taking a 3-2 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist in the victory, including the go-ahead tally with 3:03 left.
Kucherov hasreached the 20-goal plateau 10 times in his career and joins Brayden Point (25), Jake Guentzel (21) and Brandon Hagel (20) at that mark this season. He is riding a five-game point streak.
“Every team’s got a couple players that are elite,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We happen to have a couple of them. … It’s hard to explain because, as a team, you’re grinding and grinding and grinding, looking for somebody to make a play. We’ve just seen ‘Kuch’ do it time and time again.”
The Lightning are the first NHL team to boast four 20-goal scorers through 41 games — the halfway mark of an 82-game regular season — since the 1995-96 Penguins.
Point scored his 25th of the season last week against the Bruins, while Hagel had a goal and an assist. He’s working on a four-game point streak, which includes goals in three of those games.
Tampa Bay is 10-9-2 in road games this season, but had not won away from home since Dec. 23 before Sunday.
“If we want to be a good team, the top of our division and compete with some of the teams in our division, it’s really close,” Hagel said. “We’ve got to start to win on the road. We know that, and (Sunday felt) good.”
–Field Level Media
