Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins: Key players to watch out for, 27th March, 2024

The Boston Bruins will continue their road trip through Florida on Wednesday night, visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning for the fourth and final meeting of the season between the two Stanley Cup contenders.

After a grueling 4-3 win on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, the Bruins, with 99 points, will look to pick up a much-needed win over the Lightning to inch closer to securing a playoff berth.

Thus far in 2023-24, Tampa Bay has an edge in the season series, 2-1-0, thanks to overtime (5-4) and shootout (3-2) wins, while Boston's lone victory (7-3) came on January 6 at TD Garden.

David Pastrnak vs. Nikita Kucherov comparison for Lightning-Bruins game

Heading into Wednesday's game, Bruins forward David Pastrnak scored his 100th and 101st points of the season with a goal and assist in Tuesday's match against the Panthers. Boston's leading scorer is chasing 50 goals for the second consecutive season, sitting at 45.

In three games against the Lightning this season, Pastrnak has six points, stemming from two goals and four assists, while securing a plus-four rating. In his career, he's collected 37 points (22 goals and 15 assists) in 34 games against Tampa Bay, equaling 1.08 points per game.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay's leading scorer is Nikita Kucherov, who remains tied for the league's scoring title with Nathan MacKinnon. Both players currently have 123 points. Interestingly, the Russian forward is only five points away from tying a career-high of 128, set in 2018-19.

In the three meetings with the Bruins this season, Kucherov has five points, two goals, and three assists and is minus three. Throughout his career, he's scored 28 points in 35 games against Boston, with 10 goals and 18 helpers. However, he's minus-11, the worst total against any opponent.

Linus Ullmark vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy

After Jeremy Swayman's win against Florida on Tuesday, Linus Ullmark should get his turn in the net on Wednesday. He'll be looking to earn his 20th win of the season. In his past five starts, he's compiled a 3-1-1 record with a .938 save percentage (SV%) and a 1.80 goals-against average (GAA).

Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins

Against the Lightning this season, he's 1-0-1 with 2.41 GAA and .902 SV%, making 46 saves. The Swedish-born netminder is 5-6-1 against Tampa Bay in his career, with a 3.00 GAA and .901 SV%.

After missing the first two months of the season following surgery, Andrei Vasilevskiy has played 44 games and earned a 26-16-2 record, keeping the Lightning in a wildcard spot since his return.

Uncharacteristically, he's earned a 1-1-0 record against the Bruins in 2023-24, with a 3.89 GAA and .873 SV%. Vasilevskiy has a career-losing record against only four franchises, with Boston being one of them. In 21 games, he's 8-11-2 with a .914 SV% and 2.80 GAA.

Brad Marchand vs. Brayden Point

Brayden Point is Tampa Bay's second-best scorer with 80 points and the only other skater besides Kucherov with more than 30 goals, currently with 41. In the past 16 games, he's failed to register a point just twice and has 26 points, including 16 goals, during this stretch.

Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning

Point has only two goals against the Bruins this season. Both came in a 7-3 loss in January, and he is minus four through three games. Like his teammate Kucherov, Point has 18 points against Boston in 26 career games and a minus-10 rating, the worst against any opponent.

Bruins' captain Brad Marchand has had a quiet month of March with just 10 points (one goal and nine assists) in the past 12 games. While his team was down to the Panthers, Marchand picked up his physical play to rally his teammates to a 4-3 victory.

At 26 goals, Marchand is looking to reach the 30-goal plateau for the sixth time in his career. He has yet to score against the Lightning this season, and he has only three assists in three games.