The Tampa Bay Lightning (42-25-6), one of the NHL’s top power play offenses, head to face the Boston Bruins (55-11-5) and their stifling penalty killing defense at TD Garden on Saturday.
Tampa Bay is coming off a high-scoring 7-2 loss against the Senators on Thursday, their third defeat in a row. The Lightning committed five penalties in the game, conceding two power play goals. Mikhail Sergachev and Brayden Point each scored once for the Lightning.
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos both had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Brian Elliott only had 28 saves on 34 shots against (.823%) in the loss.
Boston won for the fifth game in a row, beating the Canadiens 4-2 on Thursday. Four players found the net for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman was impressive in the win, making 29 saves (.935%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Bruins have won two of the three games between the teams this season, although the Lightning were 3-2 victors in their most recent meeting in January.
Point (1G 2A) and Kucherov (0G 3A) each had three points to lead Tampa Bay. Pavel Zacha and Brad Marchand were on the scoresheet for Boston. Andrei Vasilevskiy got the win, saving 37 of 39 shots (.948%).
FACING OFF
Tampa Bay is averaging 3.41 goals per game for the season, ninth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Bruins team that is allowing only 2.11 goals a game (1st).
Meanwhile, Boston has found the net 3.76 times a game on average, second in the league, and the Lightning are allowing opponents to score 3.10 goals per game (15th).
Power play opportunities are likely to be plentiful for the Bruins, as the Lightning are averaging 4.38 penalties per game, fifth-most in the NHL. The visitors’ 11.59 penalty minutes a game ranks third-highest. The home team has been penalized 4.25 times a game (8th) for an average of 10.11 minutes (9th).
The Lightning’s third-ranked power play offense (25.50%) will face a challenging test against the Bruins, who are the league’s best penalty killing team (85.42%). Boston, meanwhile, has scored on 21.99% of their power play opportunities (12th), which the hosts will be looking to improve on against Tampa Bay’s 17th-ranked 79.20% penalty killing rate.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 102 points this season, third-most in the NHL, Kucherov is the top skater for the Lightning. He is among the league leaders with 74 assists (2nd) and has added 28 goals of his own. In the net, Vasilevskiy (31-19-4) is Tampa Bay’s top goaltender.
He has a 2.70 GAA and a .913% save percentage. David Pastrnak leads the Bruins in scoring with 95 points (5th in the league). He has 49 goals (2nd in the league) and 46 assists in 71 games.
Linus Ullmark (35-5-1) has the best goals against average for Boston at 1.95, best in the league. He has a save percentage of .937%, also best.
HOME AND AWAY
Tampa Bay is 17-18-1 on the road this season. Boston is seeking a fourth straight home win this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Boston Bruins (-165)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our NHL hub page for all your NHL needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
