BOSTON, Mass. – The Boston Bruins return to TD Garden Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET for a divisional matchup against a Tampa Bay Lightning team that has had their number all year. Despite sitting third in the Atlantic Division with 102 points, the Bruins have struggled to solve the Lightning this season, dropping all three previous meetings.
Tampa Bay enters the contest with a 43-26-10 record, 3rd in the Atlantic, and has outscored the Bruins 12-9 across their three victories in 2025-26.
Nikita Kucherov continues to be the primary engine for the Lightning offense. With 128 points on the season, Kucherov is just one point away from reaching 129, which would mark the second-highest point total of his career.
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He is also one goal shy of tying his career high of 44. Against Boston this season, Kucherov has recorded five points, a mark matched by teammate Jake Guentzel.
The matchup also features a significant milestone on the blue line. Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh reached 70 points for the season on Thursday, joining Victor Hedman as the only defensemen in franchise history to hit that mark. Additionally, veteran Ryan McDonagh is closing in on NHL history; with 2,086 career blocked shots, he is nine away from tying Alex Pietrangelo for fourth all-time.
Boston counters with a potent offense led by David Pastrnak, who has 99 points in 74 games. The Bruins will look to leverage their home-ice advantage, where they have been dominant with a 25-13-1 record. However, they are currently on a three-game losing streak following a 2-1 loss in Montreal.
Special teams could prove the difference-maker in a game expected to be physical. Tampa Bay leads the NHL in penalty minutes with 1,116, and Boston ranks second. While the Lightning boast a top-ten power play at 23.5%, the Bruins feature one of the league’s most efficient penalty kills, successfully neutralizing 82.5% of opponent advantages.
In goal, Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to lead the Lightning. He holds a 2-0-0 record against the Bruins this season and is just four games away from his 600th career NHL appearance. For Boston, the focus remains on snapping a two-game overtime/shootout slide and avoiding a winless season series against their Florida rivals.
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