Bruins Wrap: Taylor Hall Steps Up To Keep Boston Perfect At Home

Hall was a key catalyst for the Bruins

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins pulled off another narrow win in front of their home fans on Tuesday night by taking down the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1, at TD Garden.

With the win, the Bruins improved to 19-3-0, while staying perfect on home ice with a 13-0-0 mark. The Lightning fell to 13-8-1.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Bruins schedule has taken a step up in difficulty over the last week-plus, but they certainly have been up for the challenge.

It was another tough battle for Boston after battling back from two goals down to beat the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime the last time they took the ice. They weren’t faced with that type of situation again, but Boston did lose momentum after Tampa Bay leveled the score with 1:40 left in the second period on a goal from Steven Stamkos.

But the Bruins have shown they are just as comfortable in close contests as they are with big leads.

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Taylor Hall came up with the response this time for the Bruins, notching his second goal of the contest on the power play less than three minutes into the final frame. Hall’s terrific play was a much-needed catalyst for Boston’s offense.

Without Hall, this outcome of the game would have gone much differently, but the Bruins continue to display the numerous options they have in getting the job done. It’s all just been part of their magical start at home.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Hall opened the scoring just 1:07 into the action as he had a beauty of a tip-in for a goal off a shot from the point from Brandon Carlo. He wasn’t done there, as he came through with a clutch goal 2:49 into the third period on the power-play to break a deadlock. Hall now has eight goals on the season.

— Nick Foligno showed why he’s been getting time on the power play and he made a terrific pass to Hall for the game-winning goal. It was Foligno’s lone assist of the night.

— Jeremy Swayman had a strong showing between the pipes for the Bruins. The only goal he allowed came on the power play as the 24-year-old finished with 27 saves.

WAGER WATCH
Hall had only scored twice in the month of November heading into Tuesday’s contest, which is probably why DraftKings Sportsbook had him at +1700 odds to be the first goal scorer. Hall didn’t take long to cash that ticket, though, as a $100 wager on this prop bet would have netted a total of $1,800.

UP NEXT
The Bruins have three days off before hosting the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.