Red Hot Bruins End Lightning Winning Streak

The two top teams in the NHL Eastern Conference–who happen to be the hottest teams as well–faced off against each other on February 28th as the 2nd place Boston Bruins hosted the 1st place Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning were riding a franchise record 10 game winning streak, while the Bruins came into the contest 10-0-2 in their last dozen games.

After a scoreless 1st period, Boston got on the board in the 2nd with a power play goal by Jake Debrusk. In the middle of the 3rd, the Bruins put it away with a rapid fire three goal burst in a little less than 2 1/2 minutes to make it 4-0, with Noel Acciari, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand scoring the goals. Anthony Cirelli answered with a goal for Tampa Bay 37 seconds after Marchand’s goal, but that was it as the Bruins won 4-1.

The teams have split two games this season, and have two more to play. Boston is at Tampa Bay on March 25th, and closes out the regular season hosting the Lightning on April 6th. With the win, the Bruins improved to 38-17-9 (85 points). Despite the loss, the East is pretty much Tampa Bay’s to lose; the Lightning are 49-12-4, with 102 points, the best record in the league. Calgary in the West is second with 89 points.