Game Preview: Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning 1/26/23

The Boston Bruins extended their current win streak, which is now at six games, on Tuesday night with a 4-2 comeback victory over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Additionally, the team just started a five-game road trip that will take them into the All-Star Game break, which starts next Thursday.

The B’s are in Florida for two games against the Sunshine State teams, which begins this evening against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tonight will mark the third meeting between the two teams, with the Bruins winning 5-3 and 3-1 in the previous contests.

Today’s Bruins Game Notes

The Bruins are a busy team with five games in eight days, traveling up and down the eastern seaboard and visiting some of the conference’s top teams. It could be argued that this particular stretch of games will be a grind for the league’s top team, with 80 points; however, the black and gold seem prepared for any opponent.

Although the Bruins are 2-0 against the Lightning thus far this year, the defending Eastern Conference champions are always a challenge. Moreover, the team employs one of the game’s best goalies, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and is always a threat to score with an elite group of players like Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov.

The Bruins are 9-1-0 in their last ten and are trying to extend their win streak to seven games while improving upon the league’s best goal differential, plus-83. Meanwhile, the Lightning went 6-4-0 in their last ten and won their most recent match, 4-2, over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

Currently, the Bolts (30-15-1) have the seventh-most points in the league (61), with a plus-30 goal differential. Moreover, they remain locked in the third seed of the Atlantic Division, seven points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Bruins & Lightning Players to Watch

On Tuesday in Montreal, Taylor Hall opened the scoring for the Bruins with his first goal in 17 games, breaking one of the longest scoring droughts of his career. During this morning’s skate, he was paired on the top line with captain Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, a combination that hasn’t seen much time together this season.

Hopefully, after his goal in the last game, Hall can break out of the slump that has him sitting in fifth place amongst Bruins scorers. However, he is just one point away from falling to tenth. Historically, he’s got six goals and 17 assists for 23 points in 25 career games against the Lightning, including two goals the last time these two clubs met on Nov. 22, 2022.

Meanwhile, down in Tampa Bay, Kucherov is among the league leaders in points, behind Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and David Pastrnak. He’s got six points in his last five games and 15 in his previous ten. Historically, throughout his career, Kucherov has produced 1.12 points per game (PPG) with 684 points in 603 games. However, against the Bruins, his numbers dip down to 0.66 PPG with just 20 points in 30 games. Thus far in 2022-23 against the B’s, he registered no points and is minus-six.

Bruins & Lightning Historical Notes

Tonight’s game will be the 113th time these two teams will meet in the regular season, with the B’s holding a clear advantage in the series with a 70-30-9-3 record. The black and gold are also leading on the scoreboard 368-290.

Boston has won the last four games, last losing to the Lightning on Dec. 4, 2021, at TD Garden. Since the Lightning’s Amalie Arena opened in 1996, the team has had much success in the building with a 28-18-1-1 record and a slight advantage in goals 144-132. Currently, the Bruins have won their last four games at the rink dating back to their previous loss on Dec. 12, 2019.

Who’s Next for the Boston Bruins

After tonight’s game, the B’s will make the trip down to Miami, the site of the upcoming NHL All-Star Game festivities, for a Saturday evening contest with the Florida Panthers. The puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 pm EST.

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