Need to Know: Bruins at Lightning

BostonBruins.com –– The Boston Bruins are looking to get back into the win column on Saturday.

After falling, 2-1, to the Florida Panthers on Thursday, the B’s will face the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 5 p.m. matchup at Benchmark International Arena for the third of four regular-season meetings between the teams. They last faced off in the 2026 NHL Stadium Series, during which Boston fell 6-5 in a shootout.

The Lightning sit atop the Atlantic Division with 100 points. The Bruins hold onto the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 94 points – they are four points behind the Montreal Canadiens, who are third in the division.

Mikey Eyssimont will draw into the lineup for the first time since March 17. The 29-year-old forward – and former Lightning – is projected to skate on the third line with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie, while Lukas Reichel draws out.

"He's a former player here, so he should be very motivated. Just a little bit of speed," head coach Marco Sturm said of what Eyssimont adds to the lineup. "Maybe a little bit of forecheck. I think Lukas done a pretty good job, just last couple days, he was slipping a little bit, so maybe it's good for him too. It was a lot of hockey, so give Mikey the chance today to be the back in the lineup and get our forecheck going."

Mason Lohrei, who has missed the last three games with injury, will take warmups and be a game-time decision. If Lohrei can't go, Jordan Harris will slot in on the back end for the first time since March 5. The 25-year-old defenseman, who dealt with injury for the first half of the season, has two points (one goal, one assist) in his six games with the B’s.

"We'll decide after warmup if Lohrei can play or not," said Sturm. "

Wait, There’s More

• Jeremy Swayman will start in net for Boston. The goaltender last played on Thursday against the Panthers, making 22 saves. Swayman has a 2.71 goals against average and a .908 save percentage through 51 games. He has 30 wins on the season thus far.
• Tanner Jeannot played two seasons (2022-24) with the Tampa Bay Lightning before getting traded to Los Angeles and eventually landing in Boston as a free agent in July. The 28-year-old forward is on the fourth line with Mark Kastelic and Sean Kuraly, and has 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) through 72 games. Jeannot leads the Bruins with 225 hits this season.
• Fraser Minten scored Boston’s only goal on Thursday against Florida. It was the 21-year-old forward’s 17th of the year, which ties Elias Lindholm for fifth-most on the team. Minten remains on the first line with Marat Khusnutdinov and David Pastrnak, who has four assists in the last two games.

Opposing View

• The Lightning most recently beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on Thursday at Benchmark International Arena. Anthony Cirelli had a hat trick, and Brayden Point, Zemgus Girgensons and Nikita Kucherov also scored in the win. Netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves on 24 shots. Tampa Bay has won three of its last five games ahead of its matchup with the Bruins.
• Kucherov leads the Lightning with 124 points (41 goals, 83 assists) through 69 games this season. The 32-year-old forward has been on the first line with Point and Jake Guentzel while averaging 20:21 of ice time per night. Kucherov is also on the first power-play unit; he has seven goals on the man advantage.
• Darren Raddysh leads all Tampa defensemen with 66 points (20 goals, 46 assists) through 68 games. The 30-year-old blueliner is projected to skate on the first pair with J.J. Moser, and is averaging a team-high 22:53 of ice time. Raddysh is on both special teams for the Lightning; the group’s power play ranks 14th in the league at 21.8%, and its penalty kill is fourth in the league at 82.0%.