TAMPA BAY, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning continued their homestand against their division rivals, carrying the momentum from their last win against the Carolina Hurricanes, as they took on the Boston Bruins on Jan. 9. Both of these teams have been up and down in the standings, but before the matchup, the Bruins were 20-18-5 for 45 points — just a point above Tampa.
Jeremy Swayman would have himself a night as a brick wall for Boston, while Andrei Vasilevskiy stood tall in goal for the Bolts.
The Geekie brothers, Morgan and Conor, faced off in a noteworthy game. This marked Conor’s inaugural NHL season and a unique sibling rivalry.
The Bolts grabbed two consecutive power-play opportunities during the first period, but the Bruins’ PK units and Swayman were sharp and attentive, killing the penalties. On the power plays, the Lightning just couldn’t find a way to make good passes to connect on quality shots on Swayman.
Throughout the first, the Bruins had more breakouts than the Lightning, but the Lightning had many close chances on goal compared to the Bruins, outshooting them 11–9. However, both teams were scoreless going into the second period.
Starting off the second period, Swayman stood tall as a brick wall again during the Bolts’ third straight power play opportunity. However, six seconds before the PP expired, both teams drew consequential minors (Brandon Hagel for interference; Pavel Zacha for embellishment) and were sent to four-on-four after six seconds.
Later on, the Bruins drew their first PP of the game but quickly got blasted and outplayed by the Bolts. A minute on the kill, Brandon Hagel bolted down to Boston’s zone and shot close on Swayman; then Anthony Cirelli intercepted the rebound and snapped it in top shelf.
The Lightning opened the scoring shorthanded thanks to a solid penalty-killing effort. In addition to the goal, Ryan McDonough notched his 400th point from a secondary assist.
Then, with less than a minute of play remaining in the second, Mikey Eyssimont scored through Swayman’s pocket on a rush, making it 2-0 going into the third period.
Playing into the third period, Mason Lohrei decreased the deficit to just a goal after he netted a snapshot on Vasilevskiy. The Bruins finally had a d-man score after several games.
With two minutes ticking down to render a tie goal, the Bruins pulled Swayman for an extra attacker; however, they would regret that decision. Nikita Kucherov cross-ice fed Hagel in neutral ice, and Hagel wasted no time getting the empty-netter.
Regardless, Boston tried again with the empty net scheme, but again regretted it as Lohrei drew a holding minor on Brayden Point. As a consequence, Point scored on the power play immediately after the faceoff.
Another milestone for a Bolts player, as Point notched 600 points from that power play goal.
2.5 seconds before the final buzzer, things got chippy for both teams as tensions flared on the Boston team. Likewise, after 60 minutes, the Bolts won 4-1 and have taken two consecutive games at home, and have also secured a third place rank in the Atlantic Division standings.
Now, the team will head to New Jersey to face the Devils on Jan. 11. Meanwhile, the Bruins will travel down to Sunrise to face the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Panthers, on the 11th.
Three Stars
- Brandon Hagel (1G-1A)
- Ryan McDonough (2 assists, 400 points)
- Anthony Cirelli (short-handed goal)
Season 4. Episode 29. The Offseason Begins. – Bruins Benders Podcast
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