The Lightning and Bruins are playing the last of four matchups this season.
When: Wednesday, March 27 @ 7:30pm EST
Where: AMALIE Arena - Tampa, FL
TV: TNT
Radio coverage: 102.5 The Bone, Lightning Radio
Lines from Wednesday's Practice (these could change)
Forwards
Anthony Duclair - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel - Anthony Cirelli - Steven Stamkos
Tanner Jeannot - Luke Glendening - Tyler Motte
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Darren Raddysh
Matt Dumba - Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg - Nick Perbix
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
The Bruins return to Tampa having played a pretty brutal matchup last night against the Panthers, while the Lightning are coming off a few days of rest after a successful West Coast roadtrip. The Bolts were able to grab nine out of the ten points available to them while on the West Coast, but given where they are in the standings, there's no time to take their foot off the gas.
With 11 games left in the regular season, the Lightning enter Wednesday’s matchup with a four-point lead over the Capitals for the first wild-card spot. Before their most recent road trip, the Lightning won back-to-back home games over the Flyers and Rangers by a combined score of 13-3. This final stretch has them sitting just four points out of third place in the Atlantic Division.
Historically, the Bruins have been a good measuring stick for the Lightning. Boston has remained at the top of the standings the past two seasons. Two of their last three matchups have ended in overtime, with the Lightning winning both. Both of these teams want the points and I’d expect tonight to give full playoff vibes.
Notes from practice
The Lightning ended their West Coast road trip with two of their stars out of the lineup in Victor Hedman and Brayden Point. Both players were dealing with lower-body injuries. Hedman has remained the anchor on the blue line and is currently averaging 25:05 in ice time over his last eight games.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper indicated at morning skate on Wednesday that both players would be back in the lineup against the Bruins. Puck drop is at 7:30pm.
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