Lightning get the edge on special teams, give the Bruins sixth-straight loss

The Lightning won the first of four meetings against the Bruins, in what was a lively game from start to finish.

Conor and Morgan Geekie had a chance to head-to-head for the first time with their Mom sitting in the stands. Both teams went scoreless for the entirety of the first period. The Lightning were unable to capitalize on their power play opportunities to start, but their penalty kill shifted the momentum in their favor.

Special Teams made the difference

A shorthanded goal by Anthony Cirelli opened the scoring with 5:53 left in the second period. Brandon Hagel beat Mason Lohrei to the puck and was able to get a shot off, but it bounced right off the end boards. Cirelli was there to grab the puck and shoot right past Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman. From there, momentum began to build for Tampa Bay.

“You want your special teams to be momentum-grabbers. You can’t sit here and say you’re gonna score every time you’re out,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “But once you do a little bit, all of a sudden you become, hopefully, you better watch out, because these guys might score again. You can’t sit here and write it up and say, ‘Ok, great, we’re on the PK, but we’re gonna score.’ But it sure can be a weapon, and it can hopefully change the way the power play thinks.”

Over the past eight games, the Lightning have had four short-handed goals and are 17-for-17 on the penalty kill, making them the 8th best in the league.

"If we have a chance to go and create an opportunity for a goal or something, we're going to go. But in saying that, the priority, first and foremost is to kill the penalty off and make sure we're not giving anything up,” said Cirelli.

Mikey Eyssimont put the Lightning up 2-0 in the final minute of the second period giving them a small cushion.

The Bruins came out of the second intermission applying pressure. Defenseman Mason Lohrei brought his team back into it, making it 2-1 just 2:05 into the period. Brandon Hagel secured the empty netter to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead.

Milestones for Point and McDonagh

Brayden Point came through with a late power-play goal with just 36 seconds left, earning his 600th career point. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh had two assists which brought him up to 400 career points as well.

"It obviously feels good. Been playing with a lot of great teams over the years, a lot of great players,” McDonagh said of the milestone. “And it was funny, Pointer said maybe a month and a half ago, ‘Oh yeah, you're a few away from 400. But I think I sat there two away for about a month, but it feels good."

The Lightning have a jam-packed month of January, facing six Atlantic Division opponents over 10 games with three more sets of back-to-backs left. They'll face the Bruins again next week.