The Tampa Bay Lightning will play their first road game of the 2025–26 season this Monday afternoon in Boston, facing a surging Bruins squad at TD Garden. The 1:00 p.m. ET matinee marks the first meeting of the season between the Atlantic Division rivals, who split their four-game series last year.
The Bruins (3-0-0) are off to a perfect start, sitting second in the Atlantic Division with six points. Their success has been driven by a stellar defense, allowing a league-low 5 goals against and boasting a perfect 100% penalty kill to start the season. Offensively, they’ve been led by a trio of forwards—Elias Lindholm (2G, 2A), David Pastrnak (1G, 3A), and Pavel Zacha (1G, 2A)—who each have 3 or more points in three games.
Lightning Search for First Win
The Lightning (0-2-0) are looking to earn their first win and their first road victory of the season after dropping their first two games at home. A 0-2-0 start, while not ideal, is far from insurmountable in an 82-game season, but the team will need to tighten up its defense, having surrendered 10 goals so far.
Tampa Bay’s offense has been potent, tallying 7 goals and possessing a top-tier 33.3% power play success rate. The team’s leading scorers, Brayden Point (1G, 3A) and Darren Raddysh (1G, 2A), have each recorded four and three points, respectively, through two games. Star forward Nikita Kucherov is right behind with two goals.
The Bolts face a historical challenge on the road against the Bruins, holding an all-time record of 13-39-10 in Boston.
Goaltending and Milestones
All eyes will be on the crease as three-time Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy takes his 11-13-2 career record against Boston into the matchup.
Vasilevskiy played all four games last season against the Bruins, going 2-2-0 with an .884 save percentage.
Meanwhile, the game is also a chance for several Lightning players to hit major career milestones:
| Player | Milestone | Needs |
| Nick Paul | 200 Career Points | 1 Point |
| Brandon Hagel | 300 Career Points | 2 Points |
| Nick Paul | 100 Career Goals | 3 Goals |
| Nikita Kucherov | 1,000 Career Points | 4 Points |
| Victor Hedman | 800 Career Points | 4 Points |
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