PROJECTED LINES
Lines are subject to change.
Forwards
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Tyler Johnson - Jonathan Drouin
Adam Erne - Yanni Gourde - Vladislav Namestnikov
Gabriel Dumont - Greg McKegg - Joel Vermin
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Jake Dotchin
Anton Stralman - Luke Witkowski
Braydon Coburn - Andrej Sustr
Goaltender
Andrei Vasilevskiy expected to start
TUESDAY'S MATCHUP
The Lightning and the Bruins are playing their fifth of five meetings this season and third of three at TD Garden...The Bolts defeated the Bruins 6-3 in their last meeting 12 days ago in Boston, Nikita Kucherov recording his third career hat trick to pace the Bolts to their first win over the Bruins in four tries this season..Boston downed the Lightning 4-3 on Jan. 31 at AMALIE Arena despite a pair of goals from Alex Killorn...Boston beat the Bolts 4-1 in the teams' first meeting this season at TD Garden (Nov. 27)...The Bruins earned a 4-3 shootout win over the Lightning at AMALIE (Nov. 3) after Jimmy Hayes successful conversion in the 10th round of the shootout...The Lightning have won three of their last four in Boston dating back to last season, but prior to 2015-16, the Bolts had lost 10 in a row in Boston...The Bolts are 7-30-4 with six ties all-time in Boston...Tampa Bay is 25-50-9 with nine ties all-time overall against the Bruins.
LIGHTNING-BRUINS STORYLINES
The Lightning enter tonight's game four points behind Boston but with a game in hand for second place in the Atlantic Division...The Bolts trail Toronto and Ottawa by three points for third place in the Atlantic/the final wild card in the East, but both the Maple Leafs and the Senators own a game in hand on the Bolts...Tampa Bay is on a five-game road winning streak, its longest road win streak since winning six in a row from Feb. 20-March 3, 2016...The Lightning have collected points in six-straight games, one game shy of their season high for consecutive games with a point (Feb. 4-21, 2017)...Since Feb. 4, Tampa Bay is 17-5-4 and owns the second-best point percentage in the NHL (.731) behind only Chicago (.769).
INJURIES
2016-17 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 252
Ryan Callahan - Follow up surgical procedure on right hip (OUT INDEFINITELY; INJURED JAN. 7) 37 Games
Jason Garrison - Lower-body injury (DAY-TO-DAY; INJURED APRIL 2)
Cedric Paquette - Lower-body injury (DAY-TO-DAY; INJURED MARCH 9) 12 Games
Steven Stamkos - Lateral meniscus tear in right knee (OUT APPROXIMATELY 4 MONTHS; INJURED NOV. 15) 61 Games
TRANSACTIONS
April 3 - Re-assigned F Joel Vermin to AHL Syracuse
April 1 - Recalled F Joel Vermin from AHL Syracuse
April 1 - Re-assigned F Joel Vermin to AHL Syracuse
March 29 - Recalled F Joel Vermin from AHL Syracuse
March 28 - Re-assigned F Joel Vermin to AHL Syracuse
PUTTING UP PALAT OF POINTS
Tampa Bay forward Ondrej Palat tallied a goal and two assists April 2 vs. DAL to match a season-high for points in a game set twice previously in 2016-17...Palat has recorded points in seven of his last eight games (3g, 10a) and 11 of his last 13 games (4g, 13a)...Since March 9, Palat ranks tied for third in the NHL for assists (13) and tied for fourth for points (17).
IN THE NIK OF TIME
Lightning leading scorer Nikita Kucherov tallied an assist April 2 vs. DAL for his 43rd helper of the season...Kucherov has set career highs for goals (38), assists (43) and points (81) this season...Kucherov was named the NHL's First Star for March after notching 12 goals and 10 assists in 14 games during the month...Since February 21, Kucherov has recorded 17 goals and 15 assists over 19 games and leads the NHL for scoring.
