Lightning Look to end Losing Streak in Boston

Tampa visits the Bruins Sunday as both teams are struggling

Apr 4, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand (22) battles for the puck against Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke (26) during the third period at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images / Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

There is an old adage in professional sports that you want to be peaking as you enter the postseason. Apparently, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins prefer a forging by fire before the playoffs begin. Boston is winless in April having dropped four straight games, while Tampa Bay has lost three in a row. However, the Bruins can clinch a playoff berth with a win against Tampa Bay,

Meanwhile, after a brutal week the Lightning have now fallen to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Tampa bay started a critical road trip Monday with a 4-2 loss at Buffalo and it has not been any better since. The Lightning followed Monday's loss with a 6-2 onslaught at the hands of the Ottawa Senators, who broke the game open with five third period goals. On Thursday the Lightning battled Montreal and the game was tied at one goal apiece until Juraj Slafkovsky won it with just 1:04 remaining in the third period.

The Lightning will look to stop the bleeding against a Bruins team they have not lost to this season, winning the prior three games by a combined 12-9 margin. History has not been kind to the Lightning when visiting Boston. Tampa Bay is just 14-39-10 all time on the road there, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is 13-13-2 in his career versus Boston, with a .910 save percentage and 2.70 goals against average. Vasilevskiy is 2-0-0 against the Bruins this season.

Tampa Bay leads the league with 1187 penalty minutes this season, while Boston is second with 966. The Lightning stayed on brand Thursday in Montreal as the teams combined for 126 minutes and dropped the gloves several times. A big difference between the two clubs is that Boston has a league worst -36 penalty differential, while Tampa Bay is far better at a -11 clip entering Sunday's matchup.

Should this game turn into a penalty-filled contest, Tampa Bay has fared much better than Boston when down a man. The Bruins are 25th in the NHL with a 76.6 penalty kill percentage, while the Lightning rank third killing penalties at an 82.5 percent rate. Boston has spent more time shorthanded than any other team (442:03), and allowed the most power play goals in the NHL (64). The Lightning must capitilize with the man advantage in order to get back on a winning track entering the playoffs.

Puck drops at 12:30 Eastern time from the TD Center in Boston.