The most significant development of the day occurred even before the puck was dropped: thanks to the New York Rangers’ victory over Detroit earlier in the day, the Lightning clinched a playoff spot, their ninth consecutive postseason berth.
The game between the Lightning and Bruins started sluggishly. It was a low-intensity first period, featuring very few scoring chances for either side. Charlie McAvoy had the best look, but his open-net rebound chance was foiled by Darren Raddysh, who tied him up enough to prevent the puck from entering the net. Raddysh did take a penalty on the play, but it clearly saved a goal. During the ensuing Boston power play, the game and penalty clock momentarily stopped. With play continuing on the ice, it started running again. The officials eventually figured out that they needed to halt play and sort out the time discrepancy. The long delay may have contributed to the slower pace of play in the opening frame, which ended 0-0.
At the start of the second period, the Bruins raised their level and the Lightning failed to match it. The Bruins decisively controlled the action for the first 12 minutes of the middle stanza and generated several dangerous chances, one of which went in. Casey Mittlestadt got open in the slot and finished a point-blank shot at 6:47. Andrei Vasilevskiy made several other difficult saves during that timeframe. He denied a Viktor Arvidsson breakaway and an in-alone chance for Jordan Harris. He also made a key stop on Elias Lindholm’s right-circle power-play shot as the period neared the halfway point.
When the Lightning received their first (and only) power play of the game at 12:16, they began to reverse momentum. Even though they didn’t score on it, they picked up their urgency level in the closing minutes of the second. It was during this time that Jon Cooper mixed up three of his four forward lines, a change he maintained through the rest of the game.
The Lightning carried their improved play into the third. They tied the game at 2:13 when Charle-Edouard D’Astous finished a second rebound during a sequence in which the Lightning put three consecutive shots on net. D’Astous also had the second of those SOG—he followed his own rebound to the bottom of the left circle and chipped the puck past Jeremy Swayman.
The Lightning didn’t dominate the third as the Bruins had controlled much of the second, but they still had the better of the play. They owned more possession, and when they didn’t have the puck, they prevented the Bruins from generating high-danger looks.
With under six minutes remaining, the Lightning broke the tie. Raddysh skated to the bottom of the right circle and snapped a shot that slipped under Swayman’s right arm at 14:29. It was Raddysh’s 21st goal of the season, setting a franchise record for goals by a defenseman in a single season.
The Bruins pressed in the closing minutes but couldn’t tie the game. Nikita Kucherov sealed the win with an empty-netter, his 399th career goal.
The Lightning wrapped up their season-long seven-game homestand with a 5-1-1 record. Since heading out on their four-game Western road trip in the middle of March, they’ve gone 8-1-2. That run helped them secure their spot in the postseason.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Darren Raddysh — Lightning. GWG. Set franchise record with 21st goal of the season.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 21 saves.
- Charle-Edouard D’Astous — Lightning. Goal.
