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Tonight's Officials
Referees Dan O'Halloran (13), TJ Luxmore (21)
Linesmen Pierre Racicot (65), Jonny Murray (95)
Ntl. Anthem
WAYBACK MACHINE
TONIGHT’S GAME
The Bruins visit the Lightning tonight in the 3rd of 5 games between these teams and the 2nd & final game of this season’s series at Amalie Arena … The Bruins are 25-21-6 thus far this season with a 13-9-6 mark on the road … They are 13-5-1 vs. Atlantic Division
opponents and are 19-12-6 vs. Eastern Conference teams this season.
They are opening tonight their 9th of 14 sets of back-to-back games, as they will play in Washington tomorrow night … They entered tonight’s game 4-2-2 in the 1st of those games and are 1-5-1 in the 2nd game this season.
BOSTON vs TAMPA BAY, LIFETIME SERIES
The Bruins and Lightning are meeting for the 92nd time in their histories with the Bruins having a 58-23-9-1 record and 304-233 scoring advantage in those games.
The Bruins are 24-17-3-1 in their 45 road games of this lifetime series with a 134-129 scoring edge in those contests.
The Bruins are 14-3-1 in their last 18 games vs. the Lightning, including a 4-3 shootout win on 11/3 in Tampa & 4-1 win on 11/27 in Boston in the 1st 2 games of this season’s series, & they are 18-5-1 in their last 24 games of this lifetime set … They are 6-1-1 in their last 8 visits to Tampa, including wins on their last 3 trips.
Fun Fact – The Lightning are 1 of 3 teams (OTT, PHI) who have never swept the Bruins in a season series.
MILESTONES APPROACHING
Dominic Moore is 3 goals shy of his 100th NHL goal.
Jimmy Hayes is 2 points short of his 100th NHL point.
INJURIES (129 total man-games lost)
None
https://link.nhl.com/static/gamenotes/public/20162017/[email protected]?1485865203000
PREVIEW
TAMPA, Fla. -- As teams come out of the All-Star break to begin the second half of the season, Tuesday's Boston Bruins-Tampa Bay Lightning game illustrates the tight logjam that is the bottom half of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Lightning (22-22-6), who reside one point ahead of last place in the East, are just six out of the final wild card as well as third place in the Atlantic Division, currently owned by the Bruins (25-21-6).
Boston has played two more games than the Lightning, which means the two teams are actually even closer in the standings. The Bruins skated to a 4-1 home win against Tampa Bay in November, and the division rivals will play twice in the final 10 games of the season.
Tampa Bay is returning home for the first time since Jan. 13 -- coach Jon Cooper joked that the road trip spanned two presidents -- but its focus isn't on the remaining 32 games, but simply the one next on the schedule.
"Our crunch time is Boston," Cooper said Monday. "There's no sense in looking too far ahead. ... It's pointless thinking like that. Boston's ahead of us. That's a team we need to catch to get in the playoffs. That's where our mindset is."
When the new year started, the Lightning were 19-15-4 and the Bruins 20-15-4, with Tampa Bay going 3-7-2 and Boston 5-6-2.
The teams' strengths will go head-to-head, as the Lightning have the NHL's No. 4 power play (22.8 percent) and the Bruins have the league's No. 2 penalty kill (86.5 percent). Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, coming straight from the All-Star Game, is sixth in the league with a 2.15 goals-against average; Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop ranks 30th, far behind at 2.78 goals against, with Andrei Vasilevskiy one spot behind him.
Boston is in a better position than Tampa Bay entering the game, but the Bruins share the same urgency to collect as many points as possible in head-to-head games like this before they fall behind.
"It's a necessity now. You're fighting for your life," center David Backes said. "We need to gather those points. Now is the time to do it. You have to have that emotional investment."
Boston goes back-to-back to open the second half with a game Wednesday at the Washington Capitals. Tampa Bay has three home contests in five days to start its final stretch.
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