Need To Know: Bruins Vs. Lightning

BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins’ postseason future is in their very own palms on Saturday at TD Garden once they host the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 12:30 pm puck drop.

“Hopefully, it is going to be a great day for the Boston Bruins. The guys deserve everything. Playing that great all season long. Hopefully, we get rewarded today, this afternoon,” head coach Marco Sturm stated. “We are going to try to do everything in our power to make this happen.”

If the B’s win in any style, they may clinch a spot within the 2026 NHL playoffs. The Lightning have already secured a playoff berth; they sit in third place within the Atlantic Division with 102 factors. The Bruins are within the first wild-card slot with 96 factors. Saturday marks the fourth and ultimate time the groups will meet this common season.

“High-end skill and players in their lineup,” Sturm stated of Tampa Bay. “Overall, we have executed a very good job; we simply did not end it [against them]. Numerous instances it is 40 minutes; the opposite sport was 50 minutes. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re going to put 60 minutes here tonight, because they’re that good.”

Mikey Eyssimont enters the lineup for the primary time since April 4. The former Tampa Bay ahead will skate on the third line alongside Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, rather than Alex Steeves. Eyssimont has 18 factors (eight targets, 10 assists) via 53 video games. There are not any different modifications, Sturm stated.

Wait, There’s More

Jeremy Swayman will begin in web for Boston. The goaltender final performed on Tuesday in opposition to the Carolina Hurricanes. Swayman has a 2.77 targets in opposition to common and a .906 save proportion via 53 video games.

Morgan Geekie posted a hat trick on Tuesday. The 27-year-old ahead leads the Bruins with 37 targets this season, 12 of which have come on the ability play, which is one other team-high. Geekie stays on the primary line with Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak.

Charlie McAvoy has a career-high 60 factors (11 targets, 49 assists) this season whereas averaging a team-high 24:28 of ice time per night time. The defenseman is on the primary pair with Jonathan Aspirot. McAvoy was named the Bruins’ nominee for the 2026 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, as chosen by the Boston chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) on Wednesday.

Opposing View

The Lightning are coming off a 2-1 loss in opposition to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at Bell Centre. Darren Raddysh had Tampa Bay’s solely purpose, and netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves. The Lightning have misplaced their final three video games forward of the matchup in Boston.

Nikita Kucherov enters Saturday on a five-game level streak; he has three targets and 4 assists via that stretch. The 32-year-old ahead leads Tampa Bay with 128 factors (43 targets, 85 assists) via 73 video games. Kucherov is projected to be on the primary line with Jake Guentzel and Anthony Cirelli. He can also be on the primary power-play unit.

Raddysh, who leads all Lightning defensemen with 70 factors, has two targets and two assists in his final 4 video games. The 30-year-old blueliner is predicted to skate on the primary pair with JJ Moser. Raddysh has the seventh-most factors of all NHL defensemen this season.