This is the second of three meetings between the Lightning and the Bruins. Tampa Bay has notoriously struggled about the Boston Bruins. The dropped five straight to the team during the 2011 Eastern Conference finals. The Bruins have played the least amount of games than any other team in the NHL, but are set to begin a busy March that has them playing 17 games total.
The Bruins are on a five-game winning streak after an overtime game in Ottawa on Thursday. The team took a season-high 46 shots. The Bruins main weakness at this point in the season is their power-play. The have gone 0 for 26 on the power play in recent games. While they are unable to convert on the power play, they are good at killing the power-play. The team currently ranks as the third-best in the NHL at penalty kills at home at 89.7 percent. They have put together a streak of 27 power play kills. Bruins' goalie Tuukka Rask has been hot, posting a 1.38 goals-against average during the teams winning streak. The Bruins continue to remain healthy, which should help them in the back stretch of the season.
Tampa Bay is coming off an embarrassing loss to the New York Rangers where the team was outshot 35-11 in just two periods of play. The Lightning allowed a season-high 20 shots. The team began with a promising 6-1-0 starts, but have since fallen to 3-9-1 lately. Goaltending has been an issue for the Lightning. Anders Linback gave up four goals on 26 shot in the teams last meetup with the Bruins. He has not played since being pulled in Sunday's loss to the Penguins. He currently have a 3.27 GAA which ranks among the worst in the NHL.
