The biggest game of the Boston Bruins’ season is here. Tonight, they face off with the Tampa Bay Lightning for a chance to clinch a spot in the NHL playoffs.
| Lightning vs Bruins ML +145 / -165 O/U 5.5 |
Boston will need to best the Bolts in regulation if they want to lock up a trip to the postseason. Doing so would give them 94 points, which the Lightning could only tie. Since the Bruins have 41 regulation/overtime wins, they would hold the tiebreaker.
The Bruins could also surge ahead into a divisional spot if they keep up their winning ways. Their slew of impressive victories, coupled with the dramatic slump of the Ottawa Senators, means that the Bruins could be setting a date with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round when all is said and done.
Plain and simple, the Lightning are playing for their lives. A regulation loss would all but end their postseason chances. If that were to happen, the Senators are hosting the Detroit Red Wings tonight on the tail-end of a back-to-back, while the Maple Leafs are at home playing the Washington Capitals. Both are tough games in their own respect, but both are winnable games. And if that were to be the case, then the Lightning would kiss their season goodbye.
So yes, both teams will be fighting with an air of desperation about them tonight.
Tuukka Rask will be in net for the Bruins. Rask has come up big for the Bs, winning three starts in a row and only allowing three goals in the process. Though his save percentage is lower than usual this season at .912, his goals-against average is a solid 2.31. He will be gunning for win #37 tonight.
Opposite him will be Andrei Vasilevskiy. Vasilevskiy is 3-0-1 in his last four, and has been aided tremendously by his offense.
About that offense. Tampa Bay is 5-0-1 in their last six games. They have scored five goals or more in four of those matchups. Their output has been otherworldly. Ondrej Palat has 13 points in his last eight games. Brayden Point has 10 points in his last 11 since getting bumped up to the top line. Jonathan Drouin is on a four-game point streak, as is Yanni Gourde.
And Nikita Kucherov is still Nikita Kucherov, in case you were wondering.
Oh, and Tyler Johnson is back. The diminutive forward played in his first game in almost a month on Sunday and registered an assist. He is slotted in on the second line, centering Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin.
This is perhaps the most frustrating thing about the Lightning’s season. The fanbase is finally getting a look at what they thought was going to be their team for the whole season. Many came into this year thinking that the Bolts would ride their electric offense (pun absolutely intended) to another deep Stanley Cup Playoff run. It has taken until the last 12 games to really see that potency, and by now it may be too little too late.
With that said, the Bruins’ defense deserves a lot of credit. They have not allowed more than two goals in a game in their last five, with a shutout against Dallas mixed in. Their play at home has been especially stingy of late.
The last time they let in three or more? A 6-3 loss at TD Garden to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hmmm…
Tampa has won their last five road games, but are 1-7 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 scenario. This is the grind of the playoffs, however. Adrenaline goes a long way this time of year.
The Lightning are the only loss in the Bruins’ last 10 home games against teams with a losing road record.
Amazingly, the road team has won seven of the last eight encounters. Though the Lightning are 3-1-1 in their last five in Boston, they have not had a lot of success in their franchise’s history in Massachusetts.
This one quite literally could go either way. Does a hot offense beat a rock-solid defense? How far can desperation carry a team? Can the Bolts’ miracle run snap a five-game winning streak?
Also, don’t look now, but if the Lightning win tonight and stay in the hunt, Steven Stamkos could be right around the corner. My bold prediction: if the Bolts win tonight, he will most definitely play later this week. Tampa has three games remaining against Toronto, Montreal and Buffalo.
Prediction: Close call, but take the Bruins to win. Play the over.
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