This is another crucial game in the standings as the Bruins will only have one more game before the Olympic break to gain ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
When And Where
Thursday, Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. (NESN)
St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Fla.
Records
Bruins (25-22-11, 61 points, fourth place in Northeast Division, ninth place in Eastern Conference)
Lightning (26-21-11, 63 points, second place in Southeast Division, eighth place in Eastern Conference)
Head to Head
This is the third of four meetings between the Lightning and Bruins, with the two clubs splitting the first two. The Bruins beat the Lightning 4-1 on Dec. 2 at the TD Garden and lost to the Lightning 2-1 on Dec. 28. They will conclude their season series in Boston on March 25.
The Bruins lead the lifetime series 23-4-6.
Skinny
This game could be decided by the play of two hot goalies, Tuukka Rask and Antero Niittymaki, who have helped their respective teams stay in the playoff race. Rask has helped the Bruins climb out of the doldrums with a 36-save, shutout performance last Sunday, which snapped a 10-game winless streak for Boston. He came up even bigger in a 43-save performance in the 3-2 shootout win Tuesday night.
"He's enjoying his time right now," captain Zdeno Chara said. "He's got a lot of confidence and is making big saves."
The scoring duo of Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos has accounted for 16 of Tampa Bay's 22 goals during its recent 7-1-1 stretch, but St. Louis is crediting Niittymaki (7-0-1 in his past eight starts) for the team's success. In those eight games, the netminder has a 1.09 GAA, stopping 245 of 254 shots for a .965 save percentage.
"We're finding a way," St. Louis told the media recently. "Like I said, the reason for that [success] is 'Niitty.' We know we have to play better in front of him, but we're finding ways to get goals at key times. You can't dissect it too much. We look at some clips and try to get better, but we're finding a way right now and that's the most important thing at this time of the year."
Projected Lineups
Bruins
Forwards
Daniel Paille–Marc Savard–Miroslav Satan
Marco Sturm–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Michael Ryder
Milan Lucic–Steve Begin–Shawn Thornton/Byron Bitz
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Derek Morris
Matt Hunwick–Dennis Wideman
Andrew Ference–Adam McQuaid
Goaltenders
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
Lightning
Forwards
Steve Downie–Steven Stamkos–Martin St. Louis
Stephane Veilleux–Vinny Lecavalier–Alex Tanguay
Ryan Malone–Nate Thompson–Jeff Halpern
Todd Fedoruk–Zenon Konopka–Kurtis Foster
Defenseman
Mattias Ohlund–Victor Hedman
Paul Ranger–Andrej Meszaros
Kurtis Foster–Matt Walker
Goaltenders
Antero Niittymaki
Mike Smith
Goaltender Matchup
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 13-15-7 with a 2.52 GAA and a .915 save percentage. Thomas has four shutouts. Thomas is winless (0-4-2) in his last six starts and has backed up Tuukka Rask the last four games.
Tuukka Rask is 12-7-4 with a 2.01 GAA and a .931 save percentage. He is second in the NHL in GAA and first in save percentage. Rask made 43 saves in the 3-2 shootout win at Buffalo on Tuesday. He has now won two straight games and started four straight for the B's.
Lightning
Antero Niittymaki is 16-9-5 with a 2.36 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
Mike Smith is 10-12-6 with a 2.97 GAA and .904 save percentage.
Stat Sheet
Bruins
Patrice Bergeron leads the team with 36 points.
Zdeno Chara had an assist Tuesday and is second on the team in points with 32, leading the team with 27 assists. Chara has a three-game point streak going with a goal and two assists during that stretch.
Marc Savard had an assist Tuesday and now has at least one assist in each of his last three games and seven total in his last seven games. He has 29 points this season.
Daniel Paille scored the two Boston goals in regulation Tuesday, breaking a seven-game pointless streak.
Miroslav Satan had an assist Tuesday and broke an eight-game pointless streak.
Derek Morris notched his 20th assist of the season Tuesday.
Shawn Thornton got into his second fight in three games when he dropped the gloves with Buffalo's Craig Rivet on Tuesday.
Milan Lucic fought Adam Mair on Tuesday night. That was his first fight since Jan. 21 and only his third in 26 games this season.
Boston has the second-best penalty kill in the NHL. The Bruins killed off two of the three Buffalo power plays Tuesday. They have killed off 21 of the last 27 power plays they have faced and have allowed only 28 power-play goals on 206 power plays faced, boasting an 86.4 percent success rate.
The Bruins were 0-for-2 on the power play Tuesday and are 35-for-195 this season with an 18 percent success rate.
Lightning
Steven Stamkos scored his 14th power-play goal of the season on Tuesday and is now tied for the league lead. Stamkos needs two more power-play goals to tie the franchise record shared by Brian Bradley (1992-93) and Vinny Lecavalier (2006-07). With the goal, Stamkos also increased his scoring streak to 10 games and is tied for the longest active streak in the league. He has 16 points during the streak and now has 33 goals and 63 points this season.
Martin St. Louis extended his scoring streak to seven games on Tuesday with an assist and two goals, one of them a shorthanded goal. This is the third scoring streak of at least seven games for St. Louis this season. He has 11 points during the streak and 66 points this season.
Tampa Bay killed off four of five Vancouver power plays Tuesday. The Lightning penalty kill has allowed only 47 power-play goals on 235 power plays faced.
Tampa Bay was 1-for-5 on the power play Tuesday. The Lightning power play is 45-for-235 with a 19.2 percent success rate.
Black and Blue
Bruins
Mark Stuart is on injured reserve and out until after the Olympics with a broken finger.
Johnny Boychuk missed the last game with a broken orbital bone and will be out until after the Olympic break.
Lightning
David Hale suffered a broken bone in his right leg while on a conditioning assignment with Norfolk of the AHL on Feb. 3. The veteran defenseman is expected to miss between four to six weeks.
Paul Ranger is on injured reserve for personal reasons.
This Date in Bruins History
On Feb. 11, 1984, Normand Leveille makes his first appearance at the Boston Garden since suffering a cerebral hemorrhage on Oct. 23, 1982.
Overheard
"That's a big extra point for us. We need those wins and we need those extra points. Sometimes they're not always pretty. But they make up for the ones you think you should have had but never got."
–Bruins head coach Claude Julien, on winning the shootout on Tuesday, something the Bruins had been unable to do since Jan. 14 in San Jose
Press Box
Bruins
The Bruins are building momentum.
Don't believe the Tim Thomas trade rumors.
The Instigators look at David Krejci and the Czech Republic Olympic team.
Lightning
Antero Niittymaki is on the run of his career.
Should Steven Stamkos be on the Olympic team?
The Tampa Bay Lightning were sold to Boston-based businessman and minority owner of the Red Sox Jeff Vinik.
NHL
Even Sidney Crosby's opponents and fellow pro athletes look forward to seeing him play.
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis wants "immortality" for his players.
Does Marty Turco want out of Dallas?
Outlook
The Bruins are finally playing their game and building momentum heading into the Olympic break. They have a chance to gain important points on a team they're chasing in the Eastern Conference and to position themselves well for the stretch run after the break.
In order for them to do this, they will need to beat one of the hottest goalies in the NHL in Antero Niittymaki and stop one of the league's more dynamic duos in Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos. To do so, they will need to continue to believe in their system, play strong defense and skate hard. That's what has worked for them as they have pulled out of their slump, and that is what they'll need to continue to do.
