Before the Boston Bruins took the ice at the TD Garden on Monday to play the Tampa Bay Lightning, the writing was on the wall as a warning for the Black and Gold. The Lightning were 0-2-0 after losing their first two games of the year at home to the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils.
The Bruins were a perfect 3-0-0 on the season, but Monday's game wasn't going to be easy. Why? Well, it was hard to envision a Jon Cooper Lightning team dropping a third straight to begin the season. If they did, they would be eight points behind Boston. You can't win a division or clinch a playoff spot in October, but you can bury yourself in the standings.
Tampa Bay was not going to let that happen, and they came out like a desperate team. The Bruins were not ready for it and buried themselves in a deficit they were unable to recover from. Following the game, first-year head coach Marco Sturm was blunt about his team's performance early in the game on their way to a 4-3 loss.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm doesn't beat around the bush about the team's start against the Lightning
To say the Bruins came out not ready to go against a desperate team would be an understatement. The Lightning struck just over a minute into the game, then later in the period for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Then they scored just 33 seconds into the second period for a 3-0 lead.
"(The Lightning) came out to play," Sturm said. "They lost two in a row, and we knew they wanted to get to work right away, and we weren't ready, and that's why we made mistakes."
Making mistakes would be an understatement. Charlie McAvoy was picked at the defensive blueline that led to the first Tampa Bay goal. Then they left Anthony Cirelli uncovered in the defensive zone for his second goal of the opening period. A turnover to begin the second led to the Lightning's third goal.
To Boston's credit, they battled back from two three-goal deficits to cut it to 4-3, but in the end, the slow start, mistakes, and not being ready cost them. They are not built to rally from deep deficits in 2025-26.