Bruins Struck Down in Tampa

TAMPA - Bruce Cassidy was waiting for the turning point. And why wouldn't he be?
All season long, the Bruins have proven that late-game, multi-goal deficits are hardly an overwhelming burden for this group.
But on Tuesday night the surge never came, as Boston had its nine-game points streak snapped with a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.

"Generally that's happened to us, right? And it didn't," said Cassidy. "We didn't execute well enough and we didn't hit the net with our chances. And that's the way it was. Hopefully it's a one and done situation and we're ready to go on Thursday and just execute our game better."
The loss was the Bruins' first against Tampa this season in four meetings. Now, the two Atlantic Division rivals are tied with 110 points apiece atop the Eastern Conference standings, with the Bruins holding a game in hand.
"They came and played playoff hockey. We didn't," said Tuukka Rask, who made 32 saves, while seeing his 11-game personal points streak (10-0-1) come to an end. "I think those things make a difference at this time of year when other teams are willing to put everything on the line and you're kind of just playing on your heels a little bit. Wasn't our day today."

The Bruins were playing their third game in four nights, but were not interested in using late-season fatigue as an excuse for their efforts.
"We've said that all along, that it's going to be that type of hockey for the rest of the year," said Patrice Bergeron. "It's part of realizing you can't take the night off no matter what night it is, or who you're playing, or what happened the night before. You have to be at your best and we didn't do that tonight."
Cassidy was not pleased with the Bruins' first period - during which Boston was outshot, 17-8, while managing to keep the game scoreless - but believed his team could have changed the course of the night with a fortunate bounce. Had Bergeron's shot from the slot not clanked off the post in the opening frame, the Black & Gold could have been playing from ahead.
And it was only a few moments after Brian Gionta's tally was wiped off the board early in the second for corralling the puck with a high stick, that Brayden Point gave the Lightning the only cushion they needed.
"That could deflate them because they were playing the way they wanted to play, finishing checks," Cassidy said of Bergeron's near miss. "They were winning most of the loose pucks. Maybe a play or two we come out of that…we weren't able to play through those. We had to play through that and make sure when it was 1-0 or 2-0 you get the next goal and not get behind three. They're too good a team."
Instead, Tampa went on to score three second-period goals, before delivering the final dagger just 2:34 into the third on J.T. Miller's 23rd of the season.
"I thought a lot of our young guys got an education tonight on what it takes and I'm not putting this on them," said Cassidy. "I'm just telling you the experience they gained tonight understanding the urgency level was very good for them in the long run…good for them to learn that because that's what they're gonna see next week [in the playoffs] and they need to be able to play in those types of games if they expect to be in the lineup. It's not all bad for them to go through that."

McAvoy Returns

Charlie McAvoy was back in the lineup for the first time since suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee on March 3 against Montreal. He was reunited with Zdeno Chara on Boston's top pairing and played a team-high 21:23 with two shots on goal, four hits, and two blocked shots, while posting a minus-2 rating.
"I thought he was good," said Cassidy. "There's always room for improvement. Having not played, you lose a bit of your crispness with your execution, but he was moving well, he got into battles, didn't look tentative. That's good, we'll see how he is the next game.
"But we need him to be the player he was and I'm sure the next game he'll get a little better feel for it and go from there."
McAvoy said he felt fine physically and, like Cassidy, anticipates that his timing and decision-making will improve with each passing game.
"Just good to be back out there again," said McAvoy. "Kind of used the first period as a feeler. Couple plays probably could have skated it more, just tried to get back in the swing of things. I thought by the third it was my best period. Just gonna keep getting better."

Carlo Done

Prior to the game, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney announced that Brandon Carlo would have season-ending surgery at Mass. General Hospital later this week to repair a fractured left ankle suffered on Saturday against the Florida Panthers. Carlo is expected to recover in three to four months.
It is a devastating blow for the second-year defenseman, who has now suffered season-ending injuries in the final week of the season in both of his NHL campaigns. The 21-year-old was concussed in the final game last season and was sidelined for the Bruins' playoff series with Ottawa.
"I felt bad for Brandon the minute it happened," said Cassidy. "I didn't even know what happened, but when you go off on a stretcher it's generally not good news, unless sometimes you get away with it if it's something up high.
"But you could tell his leg buckled there and it's gonna be tough for him. He's young, he'll bounce back, and hopefully gets better luck going forward."