The Lightning are winners of three of their last four, and they've been home since before Christmas, bringing their A game to the St. Pete Times Forum.
When and Where
Monday, Dec. 28, 7:30 p.m. (NESN)
St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Fla.
Records
Bruins (19-11-7, 45 points, second place in Northeast Division, fifth place in Eastern Conference)
Lightning (14-15-9, 37 points, fourth place in Southeast Division, 12th place in Eastern Conference)
Head to Head
This is the Bruins' second meeting with Tampa Bay this season. The first was a decisive victory for the B's at the TD Garden, as Marco Sturm scored twice in Boston's 4-1 victory, its sixth in seven games. The Bruins had Tampa Bay's number last season as well, going 3-1-0.
Skinny
After back-to-back seasons in the Southeast Division cellar, this year shows signs of bigger and better things: fourth place. The Lightning are slowly clawing their way out of last place in the Southeast (and they have Carolina to thank for that), but with their anemic offense and streaky play this season, they've got a lot of work to do. It's hard to believe this franchise is just six years removed from winning the Stanley Cup.
Projected Lineups
Bruins
Forwards
Steve Begin–Marc Savard–Marco Sturm
Daniel Paielle–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton–Vladimir Sobotka–Byron BitzDefensemen
Zdeno Chara–Dennis Wideman
Andrew Ference–Johnny Boychuck
Matt Hunwick–Derek Morris
Goaltenders
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Lightning
Forwards
Ryan Malone–Steven Stamkos–Martin St. Louis
Alex Tanguay–Vincent Lecavalier–Jeff Halpern
James Wright–Paul Szczechura–Steve Downie
Kurtis Foster–Zenon Konopka–Stephane Veilleux
Defensemen
Mattias Ohlund–Victor Hedman
Andrej Meszaros–Kurtis Foster
David Hale–Lukas Krajicek
Goaltenders
Antero Niittymaki
Mike Smith
Goaltender Matchup
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 10-8-5 with a 2.43 GAA and .917 save percentage. Thomas has four shutouts.
Tuukka Rask is 9-3-2 with a 1.97 GAA and .933 save percentage. Rask has one shutout.
Lightning
Antero Niittymaki is 7-5-4 with a 2.46 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
Mike Smith is 7-10-5 with a 3.12 GAA and a .899 save percentage.
Stat Sheet
Bruins
The Bruins are 8-5-4 on the road.
They have 23 power-play goals, fourth-fewest in the NHL.
Tim Thomas has played in five overtime games this season.
Tuukka Rask's 1.97 GAA leads the league.
Patrice Bergeron leads the Bruins with 29 points.
Bergeron and Marco Sturm each have 10 goals.
Zdeno Chara has taken 101 shots on goal.
Marc Savard has five power-play goals.
Panthers
The Lightning are 8-5-4 at home.
They have scored 97 goals, fifth-fewest in the NHL.
Martin St. Louis is third in the NHL with 35 assists.
Zenon Konopka leads the league with 139 penalty minutes.
Vincent Lecavalier has taken 138 shots on goal, fifth-most in the NHL.
Steven Stamkos has scored 21 goals, only two off his total from his entire rookie season last year.
Stamkos and Ryan Malone each have 13 even-strength goals.
Black and Blue
Bruins
Derek Morris, who missed three games with an undisclosed injury, made his return Sunday against Florida.
Milan Lucic is nearing his return from a high left ankle sprain.
Mark Stuart is out for at least three more weeks with a broken sternum.
Lightning
Antero Niittymaki missed Saturday's game against Atlanta due to the birth of his daughter. His status for Monday is uncertain.
Todd Fedoruk and Jeff Halpern both left Wednesday's game against Philadelphia with lower-body injuries. Both have been placed on injured reserve.
Matt Walker has a lower-body injury as well. He is day-to-day.
This Date in Bruins History
In 2005, the Bruins lose an ugly 6-4 decision to the Florida Panthers, as opposing captain Olli Jokinen has two goals and an assist to extend his points streak to eight games. Brad Boyes scores twice in the losing effort for Boston.
Overheard
"I’m optimistic I can play in that game. We’ll just see how these next five days go. If it’s not ready, I won’t play. That’s the bottom line. I’m not going to put myself in the position of being out for another four weeks just because I came back early."
–Milan Lucic, in Monday's Boston Herald, on his status for Friday's Winter Classic at Fenway Park
Press Box
Bruins
The B's turned up the heat in Florida.
Milan Lucic hopes to play at Fenway.
The Bruins' scouts have some work to do.
Lightning
Tampa Bay held on for a win against division rival Atlanta.
Mattias Ohlund is an Olympian.
The Lightning report a couple roster moves.
NHL
Patrick Kane lifted the Blackhawks over the Predators.
The Flyers have won 13 straight against the Islanders.
When hockey and pop culture collide.
Outlook
Vincent Lecavalier is running hot for the Lightning, who have worked their way out of a pitiful 1-8-2 stretch by winning three out of four games over the past week. But this visit from the Bruins will be a wake-up call for them — they're playing against the big boys now, and even at the tail end of a road back-to-back, the B's are no pushovers. Expect the Bruins to come out firing with their three-game winning streak on the line.
