The Boston Bruins have exited the NHL All-Star break in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and they’ll try to maintain that position Tuesday night in Tampa Bay against the Lightning.
The Lightning were expected to be a top Stanley Cup contender this season, but injuries and underwhelming performances from key players have sunk them to sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
Tampa Bay is 3-5-2 in its last 10 games and owns a minus-10 goal differential on the season. Losing captain and superstar forward Steven Stamkos has been a huge blow to the Lightning, and it’s left them lacking depth at center.
The Bruins entered the break with plenty of momentum after beating the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins at home last week and scoring four goals in each victory. A win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday night would give Boston its first three-game win streak since Dec. 5.
Here are the projected lineups for both teams.
BOSTON BRUINS (25-21-6)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–David Pastrnak
Frank Vatrano–David Krejci–David Backes
Matt Beleskey–Ryan Spooner–Riley Nash
Tim Schaller–Dominic Moore–Jimmy Hayes
Zdeno Chara–Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug–Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller–Colin Miller
Tuukka Rask
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (22-22-6)
Ondrej Palat–Vladislav Namestnikov–Nikita Kucherov
Brian Boyle–Valtteri Filppula–Jonathan Drouin
Alex Killorn–Tyler Johnson–Brayden Point
Gabriel Dumont–Cedric Paquette–J.T. Brown
Victor Hedman–Jake Dotchin
Braydon Coburn–Anton Stralman
Jason Garrison–Andrej Sustr
Ben Bishop
Thumbnail photo via Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports Images
