BOSTON — The Lightning’s visit to TD Garden Tuesday night offered them a valuable opportunity, the chance to move four points ahead of the Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division.
But the day seemed to spiral quickly, and by the end of it the Lightning finished their three-game road trip with a disappointing 6-2 loss to the Bruins, licking their wounds after they couldn’t recover from another slow start away from home.
The Lightning played without their leading goal-scorer, top center Brayden Point, who was scratched for missing a team meeting prior to the morning skate. It forced the team to scramble just to get enough players to fill its roster, recalling 22-year-old forward Jack Finley from AHL Syracuse to make his NHL debut as the 12th forward.
By falling behind 2-0 before the midway point of the first period and allowing the first four goals, the Lightning (23-16-3) dug themselves another early hole. Over their past six road games, they have been outscored 8-2 in the first period and only once scored the first goal of the game. They are 1-4-1 over that stretch and 10-10-2 this season away from Amalie Arena.
“For us to have to dig ourselves out of holes like that, that’s just gotta stop,” Lightning captain Victor Hedman said. “We’ve got to make sure that we start the game on time and put ourselves in a better position, because it’s frustrating.”
Now the Lightning have the same number of points (49) as Boston, with four games in hand.
Missing Point
Point is off to one of the best starts of his career, entering Tuesday tied for third in the NHL with 25 goals. His 12 power-play goals and 29.1% shooting percentage also led the league.
But after he arrived late to the arena Tuesday morning, Point was scratched by coach Jon Cooper for violating one of the Lightning’s most cut-and-dried rules. Point previously sat out a 2019 game in Philadelphia for missing a meeting. Defenseman Erik Cernak was scratched for a game last season for a similar infraction.
“We’ve had a standard since I’ve been here,” Cooper said. “This is professional sports and you’ve got rules, and nobody’s kind of above the law. And it’s unfortunate, because this game, we could have really needed him. But, you know, the one that probably feels the worst about it is Pointer, because he’s such a great guy and a great team guy.
“I doubt he’s gonna be the last player … to do something like that. But I felt awful and wish we could have had him (Tuesday). But we’ve won games before without him. … He’ll be back in there in a couple nights. … It’s a hiccup that happens.”
Chasing the game again
Point’s absence resulted in a new-look lineup that included Nick Paul taking over the top center spot. Nikita Kucherov spent much of the game double shifting, skating with Paul and Jake Guentzel, and also with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel.
But the Lightning made some early miscues that led to their quick deficit. Hedman whiffed on a pass at the blue line that led to a two-on-one the other way. Trent Frederic beat Paul to the back post, tipping in Matthew Poitras’ pass through the paint past goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who struggled with seeing the puck Tuesday.
Up 2-0, the Bruins were quicker to the puck against the wall in the neutral zone, pushing it up to give Brad Marchand an open look from the left circle 1:13 into the second period. Less than five minutes later, David Pastrnak was left uncovered in front of the net to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead on just 10 shots on goal.
“It’s just unacceptable,” Paul said. “We’ve just got to figure out a way to start on time. You start a game down, it’s not easy to climb out, so we addressed it. We were talking about it, we’re figuring it out, and we’ll be better. … When you’re not playing a full 60 minutes, especially the first period, it’s hard to win games.”
Rally falls short
Defenseman Emil Lilleberg’s fight with Frederic, which included both players swinging heavy rights, at 7:37 of the second seemed to invigorate the Lightning. Conor Geekie scored on a tip-in just over a minute later, and Tampa Bay went into the third period with life after Hedman scored with 18 seconds left in the second.
But the Lightning failed to build on that momentum, and a period full of whistles didn’t allow for any rhythm down the stretch. Tampa Bay held Boston to just three shots on goal in the third before getting a power play with 3:33 left.
Cooper pulled Vasilevskiy for a 6-on-4 advantage, but Andrew Peeke and Pavel Zacha scored empty-net goals 26 seconds apart to seal the game for the Bruins.
“I was thinking, if we weren’t flying out (Wednesday), if we’d have flown in (after the game), we’d have gone until 5 in the morning,” Cooper said. “That’s how long it was. That third period felt like it lasted forever.
“There was probably some side components to the game, a couple fights, but there wasn’t a ton of flow. But it shouldn’t matter. It’s still a 60-minute game. We probably did some good things for two periods, but it kind of gets pushed to the side when you get the result you do.”
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why was Brayden Point scratched from the game?
Brayden Point was scratched for missing a team meeting prior to the morning skate, violating team rules.
2. How did the Lightning struggle during the game?
The Lightning fell behind early, allowing the Bruins to score the first four goals and struggled to recover from the deficit.
3. What impact did Point’s absence have on the game?
Point’s absence led to lineup changes and early miscues, contributing to the Lightning’s slow start against the Bruins.
Conclusion
The Lightning faced challenges in their game against the Bruins, including the absence of Brayden Point and a slow start that led to a disappointing loss. Despite moments of momentum, the team was unable to overcome the early deficit and fell short in their rally attempts.