A second-period push wasn’t enough for the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night in a 6-2 road loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Boston built a 4-0 lead through the game’s first 26 minutes of hockey, but goals by Conor Geekie and Victor Hedman pulled the visitors within a pair of the Bruins, 4-2.
Empty-net scores for Boston ended the game.
Hedman led Tampa Bay with a goal and assist, while Boston was paced by David Pastrnak’s three-point night.
Tampa Bay is 23-16-3 on the season and returns to AMALIE Arena for a two-game homestand, one that begins at 7 p.m. Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks.
Scoring summary
First period
BOS 1, TBL 0
4:24 Trent Frederic (7) - Matthew Poitras
A 2-on-1 ended with the game’s first goal for the home team. Forward Trent Frederic buried the pass at the left post.
BOS 2, TBL 0
9:30 Parker Wotherspoon (1) - David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha
Boston doubled its lead on defenseman Parker Wotherspoon’s first NHL goal. Boston forward David Pastrnak took the puck to the right faceoff circle before feeding the defenseman at the left circle, where the latter scored on his shot.
Shots on goal: TBL 9, BOS 6
Second period
BOS 3, TBL 0
1:13 Brad Marchand (16) - Pastrnak
Boston’s captain extended its lead early in period two. Forward Brad Marchand’s shot from the left faceoff circle found the top right corner of the net.
BOS 4, TBL 0
6:05 Pastrnak (20) - Zacha, Andrew Peeke
Pastrnak scored his third point of the night by scoring on a one-timer shortly after a rebound.
BOS 4, TBL 1
8:50 Conor Geekie (6) - Victor Hedman, Darren Raddysh
Tampa Bay’s rookie forward got the visitors on the scoreboard near the midway mark of period two, as Conor Geekie redirected a point shot by defenseman Victor Hedman.
BOS 4, TBL 2
19:42 Hedman (8) - Nikita Kucherov, Nick Paul
Hedman stepped into the offensive zone in the final minute of the second period and took a feed from Nikita Kucherov, burying a shot in the left circle to cut the Boston lead to two goals.
Shots on goal: TBL 20, BOS 12
Third period
BOS 5, TBL 2
16:30 Andrew Peeke (1) - Elias Lindholm - SH, EN
Andrew Peeke’s empty-net goal extended the Boston lead late.
BOS 6, TBL 2
16:56 Zacha (10) - Marchand, Nikita Zadorov - SH, EN
Forward Pavel Zacha had the game’s final goal, also into the empty net.
Total shots: TBL 45, BOS 24
