Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning 

The Bruins were able to steal Game 1 on the road and put up six goals in the process. Their offense was able to show up big time, while their defense played one of their stronger games of the year. The Lightning are in need of a big bounce-back game, as they can’t lose both games at home. The Tampa offense can score with the best of the league, it really just comes down to their defense being able to slow down the opposition. This game has an over-under set at six goals, so we are set for some offense in this one, and what should be another great playoff game.

Game Play Predictions

 

Boston Bruins

  • The Bruins had five players record multiple points in Game 1, with three players having three or more points. Plenty of offense from them should be a trend in this series.
  • There were eight players for the Bruins in Game 1 who took two shots or more. They have an expected Corsi for of 47 tonight, so we should see plenty of shots from them again.
  • Boston was one for one on the power-play in Game 1, while the Lightning were one for three.
  • David Pastrnak had a team-high four assists in Game 1 but was their leading goal scorer in the first-round. Look for him to get on the board tonight.
  • Tuukka Rask posted a .944 save percentage in Game 1, but remains shaky throughout the playoffs.

Players to Watch

Patrice Bergeron – led the team with 13 face-offs won, and will continue to see time on their top line and top power-play unit. He had a +4 rating with five shots on goal in Game 1.

Charlie McAvoy – He led the Bruins with five hits, and tallied two assists in the first game. He is seeing time on the power-play while logging over 20 minutes of ice time in all but one game in the playoffs.

Rick Nash – Nash came up big in Game 1 with two goals, which were his first goals since Game 2 of the first round. He has been moved up to the first power-play and will look to continue contributing to the offense in Game 2.

 

Tampa Bay Lightning

  • Out-shot the Bruins 36 to 24 in Game 1 but were only able to come away with two goals, which tied for their lowest amount this postseason.
  • Also outshot the Bruins in two of the three periods but were unable to score for the entire third period, despite having nearly double the Bruins shots.
  • Only converted on one of three power-play opportunities, which should be concerning since their power-play was one of their strengths throughout the regular season.
  • Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy posted a save percentage of .783, which was his lowest percent by far this postseason.
  • Dan Girardi and Mikhail Sergachev, who are both defenders, accounted for the Lightning’s two goals.

Players to Watch

Nikita Kucherov – He led the team in points during the regular season, he is leading the team in points so far this postseason, but had no points in Game 1. Tampa needs him to bounce back in a big way to have a shot in this series.

Victor Hedman – Hedman is their best defender and racked up five shots in Game 1, which was tied for a team-high. He did post a -1 rating but was on the ice for nearly 25 minutes, which was a team high.

Anthony Cirelli – He led the team with seven face-offs won, and despite being on the third forward line, he made a big and positive impact for the team. Expect him to see increased ice time if he continues to win face-offs.