BSJ Game Report: Lightning 3, Bruins 2 - Special-teams woes continue as losing streak stretches to 5 games

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 loss to the Lightning in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

TWO THINGS TO KNOW

Bruins in uncharted territory under Cassidy: For the first time since Mar. 15-24, 2016, the Bruins have lost five consecutive games, as the B’s were unable to corral an explosive Lightning power play in what resulted in a 3-2 victory for Tampa Bay on Thursday night at Amalie Arena. 

While special-teams woes continued and perhaps played the primary role in another frustrating defeat for Bruce Cassidy’s club, Boston once again found itself rudderless for extended stretches of the night — with the Bruins looking like a shell of the team that became the first club in the NHL to 20 wins in 2019-20. 

During 5v5 play, Boston labored once again when it came to



generating sustained zone time, with Boston out-attempted, 38-19, and out-shot, 17-10, in the first two periods alone. 

Once again, there were far too many passengers up front for the Bruins, who eventually relented and slotted up Charlie Coyle on David Krejci’s line in a desperate attempt to generate some offense in the third period. 

This four-game road trip was going to be a tough task for Boston, no doubt. But given the expectations and standards of this roster, a goose egg in terms of points accrued is unacceptable. 

Special-teams discrepancies loom large again: The road toward righting the ship wasn’t going to be easy for the Bruins on Thursday night. Yes, the Lightning have been a far cry from the buzzsaw that posted 62 wins in 2018-19, but this is still an uber-talented roster that smelled the blood in the water against a slumping Bruins club on Thursday.

Even though the Lightning had dropped four of their last five games at Amalie Arena entering Thursday’s matchup, they have been a force on the man advantage in their own building, cashing in on 34.5% of their power-play chances. 

And it was that power-play that extended Boston’s woes for at least another couple of days, as Tampa managed to beat Tuukka Rask twice on the man advantage en route to the victory. It was far from Rask’s fault, however, with defensive breakdowns and failed clears allowing the Bolts to pepper the B’s goalie early and often. 

Boston’s PK was going to be in for a rough night, but perhaps those misfortunes could be balanced if the Bruins had been able to break out of their 2-for-25 slump on the power play? Well, make it 2-for-27 now, as Boston only managed to land two shots on goal in each of its two power-play chances against Tampa. 

THREE UP

Patrice Bergeron: After getting a goal taken off the board on Wednesday night against the Capitals, the Bruins center was not denied on Thursday against the Bolts, knocking home a puck in the low slot after a nice wraparound bid by Brad Marchand at 4:26 in the first. Since returning to the lineup following an eight-game absence, Bergeron has tallied two goals over three games. 

Tuukka Rask: It’s a minor miracle that the Lightning only managed to score three times in this one, as Rask was under fire for most of the night — turning aside six of the seven high-danger shots that came his way in what finished as a 28-save outing for the netminder. 

Charlie McAvoy: This was one of his best games in quite some time for McAvoy, who logged 27:54 of ice time and landed three shots on goal. McAvoy, who added a secondary helper on Bergeron’s tally, needs to bring this level of play every night — with the 21-year-old skater often jumpstarting Boston’s sluggish offense by carrying the puck through the neutral zone and extending O-zone time with some assertive play. 

THREE DOWN

John Moore: Even with his goal in the closing minutes of the third, it was a rough night at the office for Moore, who was benched for an extended stretch in the second period after his second penalty of the night — another trip against Alex Killorn — led to Stamkos’ equalizer at 12:35 in the middle stanza. Add in a failed clear that led to Stamkos’ eventual game-winner at 15:13, and it was a night to forget for the veteran defenseman. 

Penalty kill: Yes, the Lightning’s PP has been downright unconscious at Amalie Arena this year, but Boston’s PK also left Rask out to dry on a number of 5v4 sequences. Tampa’s opening tally might have been generated off of a set play, but there should be no situation in which a sniper as skilled as Stamkos is left open like this. Add in a back-breaker goal scored by Brayden Point just seconds after a highlight-reel stop by Rask on Nikita Kucherov, and the Bruins dug themselves a hole that they could not get out of. 


https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1205298656452194305

Krejci Line: You could also loop in just about every forward combination out there in this one, but we’ll go with the second line, which once again failed to gain any traction with Brett Ritchie on the wing. Even with Cassidy shifted both Coyle and David Pastrnak on that line, the results were very underwhelming — with Boston failing to land a single shot on goal in the 3:36 of 5v5 ice time in which a DeBrusk-Krejci-Pastrnak line was deployed. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

What a shame Point managed to bury one past Rask just seconds after this stop.

https://twitter.com/mkmolnar/status/1205308320850042881

PARTING THOUGHT

For the first time in 11 years, Zdeno Chara has dropped the gloves in back-to-back games, as the Bruins captain threw a few punches at Pat Maroon on Thursday — just a day removed from getting into a scrap with Tom Wilson. As always, it was a bad idea for the opposition when it comes to trying to get a few punches in against the 42-year-old defenseman. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1205281098198126592

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will close out their four-game road trip on Saturday night, with the B’s set to battle the Florida Panthers. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. While Sergei Bobrovsky has largely struggled in net this season, the Panthers are still hovering around the playoff picture thanks to a 15-11-5 record — a testament to some of the talent that Florida regularly rolls out up front and on the blue line.