Bruins @ Tampa Bay, 04/08/22

        In an instant classic, the Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in overtime to take sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Division - for now.  With David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm absent from the lineup, the Boston Bruins entered Tampa Bay to take on the 2-time reigning Stanley Cup champions.  The Lightning have struggled in this last stretch of the season, entering Friday’s game on a three game losing streak, going 4-5-1 in their previous ten games.  Prior to play, the Bruins and Lightning both held 93 points, putting them at third and fourth in the division respectively; the Bruins held a better goal differential, pushing them past Tampa in the standings despite sharing the same points total.  

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Returning to the lineup was Trent Frederic, who had missed Boston’s previous game against Detroit after sustaining an upper-body injury when playing the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this week.  Frederic’s return also meant the return of the formidable third line of Frederic-Coyle-Smith.  In for David Pastrnak was the twenty-two year old Marc McLaughlin, who had scored his first NHL goal in his big league debut against the New Jersey Devils.  

Linus Ullmark was given the start, and carried the Bruins to victory with his best performance of the season.  Ullmark allowed one goal on twenty-nine shots for a .966 save percentage across sixty-four minutes of play.  When the Bruin’s defense faltered, Ullmark was able to stand tall and make several clutch saves including ten from the Tampa Bay power play, and a toe save on a Brayden Point breakaway.

In the opening minutes of the second period, the Bruins top line connected to score what would be the team’s only goal in regulation.  A defensive play by Bergeron to maintain possession, leading to a pass under pressure by Marchand, gave the undefended DeBrusk time and space to slide a backhand shot through Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.  Only a few minutes later Tampa evened the score as Pierre-Edouard Bellemare’s one-timer caught the corner, beating Linus Ullmark cleanly on the glove side.  Tampa Bay maintained offensive zone pressure after Trent Frederic was unable to clear the zone, skating directly into the Lightning defense waiting on the blueline.  

Both team’s goaltenders continued to shine, forcing the game into overtime with neither conceding another goal until Charlie Coyle’s shot in close gave Boston the 2-1 victory with 1:23 remaining in overtime.  Coyle received the first star of the game for his game winning goal, with Ullmark and Vasilevskiy receiving the second and third stars for their dominance through sixty plus minutes. 

 Games don’t get much more “Boston vs. Tampa Bay” than those as high octane and low scoring as this one.

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Despite being without two of their best players in Pastrnak and Lindholm, the Bruins continued to find a way to win.  Linus Ullmark’s stellar performance between the pipes gave Boston the backing they needed to secure two points, despite some inconsistent play from their offensive units.  The power play continued to struggle, unable to score through three opportunities during regulation.  Through the last twenty games, Boston has eleven power play goals through fifty-six opportunities, for a subpar 19.6%; and despite having eight players with at least sixteen points during that stretch, Boston’s man advantage remains a weak spot.  To make matters worse, there is still no definitive word on David Pastrnak’s return, who currently leads the team with 38 goals; however, it is possible the team is electing to rest Pastrnak longer than medically necessary.  This could allow him to better recover from whatever has been nagging him, though potentially at the cost of losing the offensive momentum so critical to Pastrnak’s success.

Defensively, Boston was not sharp.  They were frequently unable to get the puck out of their own zone, leading to multiple scoring chances for Tampa Bay, one of which the Lightning were able to capitalize on.  For the third game in a row, Boston put themselves on the penalty kill five different times.  And while the Bruins have allowed only one goal through these fifteen opportunities, frequent trips to the sin bin paired with an unproductive power play is a recipe for disaster heading, especially heading into the playoffs.  To contextualize how concerning these trends are, consider that Boston’s most likely first round matchups are the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes; Toronto leads the league in power-play percentage at 30.2%, and Carolina leads the league in penalty-kill percentage at 88.2%.  Closing out the season, Boston must be more disciplined and find their rhythm on the power play.  If they haven’t solved these issues come May, either of those teams will bury the Bruins in their own mistakes and end their season early.  

The Bruins head to Washington, D.C. to face the Capitals for a Sunday matinee.  The Capitals will be playing the second half of a back-to-back, so look for the Bruins to take advantage of a tired Capitals team as they attempt to pass Toronto in the standings to secure home-ice advantage.