Preview: Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning

The day is finally here. Bruins fans everywhere have had this day circled on the calendar, and tonight, the Boston Bruins welcome the equally red hot Tampa Bay Lightning to TD Garden. The Lightning are on a 10-game win streak, and will be starting Loui Domingue between the pipes. Domingue has been victorious in 11 consecutive starts. Add that to a Lightning team that boasts the best scorer in the game Nikita Kucherov (104 Pts in 64 games played), Brayden Point (80 Pts in 62 games) and Steven Stamkos (77 Pts in 64 games), the Lightning will be a tough task for the Bruins.

Not to be outdone, the Bruins go into tonight’s game “feeling themselves”, as they have picked up points in 14 straight games. Tuukka Rask gets the nod tonight after having his 6 game winning streak snapped by the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, where they fell 2-1 in the shootout. Rask looks to continue to build on a successful season that started out very concerning. He has settled in, and is now 20-8-5 on the season. The continued success of Jake Debrusk and production from Danton Henien makes this Boston Team as deep as anyone in the East outside Tampa Bay

In order for the Bruins to be successful tonight, they need to continue to bring the play to their opponents, and there should be no shortage of emotion in this game for either side. This is a big game for Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney as well, as this will surely be the measuring stick for the fan base as far as playoff chances go versus the Lightning. To that I say, win or lose tonight, it’s important to keep things in perspective. A Bruins loss tonight doesn’t automatically mean Boston can’t take the Lightning in a 7 game series, and if the Bruins are victorious tonight, it doesn’t mean there is a new sheriff in the Atlantic Division. What fans should do tonight is sit back and enjoy this game which promises to be a dandy!