Recap: Bruins edged out by Lightning, 3-2, in shootout

Marchand recorded two assists in his 1,000th game.

The Boston Bruins came back from a two-goal deficit, but were powerless in the third on the man-advantage to capitalize and get the go-ahead and ultimately fell 3-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a shootout on Tuesday night at the TD Garden.

Brayden Point scored the Lightning’s shootout goal, while the Bruins couldn’t get any past Andrei Vasilveskiy.

As Brad Marchand skated in his 1,000th career game, he assisted on both Bruins’ goals.

While they didn’t get the regulation win, the team had a solid effort overall as they played with more intensity and emotion to try to match that of their captain on a milestone night.

“That was more like our team,” Marchand said. “If we play like that every night we are going to give ourselves an opportunity to win most games.”

But they were unable to capitalize on the power play when they needed to the most.

“Our power play needs to come through for us there,” Jim Montgomery said. “Can’t go 0 for six.”

The Bruins fell behind on a goal from Erik Cernak early in the first period which Linus Ullmark just wasn’t tight enough on. But Ullmark recovered to make some big saves, including a breakaway chance from Nikita Kucherov during the game.

The Lightning extended their lead again, early in the second period before the Bruins bounced back a minute later.

On a delayed penalty call later in the middle frame, Marchand set up the whole offensive play which led to a tip-in by James van Riemsdyk out front on the equalizer.

Despite three power plays in the third alone, the Bruins couldn’t get any momentum built for the go-ahead.

The game was forced into overtime where the Bruins outshot the Lightning, 6-1, with two big chances — one from David Pastrnak and the other from Marchand — to end things.

But a shootout would determine tonight’s result. For the Bruins, Jake DeBrusk, Charlie Coyle and Pastrnak were all stopped by Vasilevskiy. Point got his shot past Ullmark for the final: 3-2 Lightning.

Here are the highlights:

First period:

The Lightning opened the scoring at 3:21 of the first period.

Erik Cernak’s wrist shot trickled through Linus Ullmark’s five-hole. The goal was under review, but the refs quickly determined the puck fully crossed the goal line. 1-0 Lightning.

Second period:

The Lightning took a two-goal lead at 1:06 of the second period.

Nikita Kucherov threw a snap shot on net from the low right-wing circle which traveled past Ullmark’s glove. 2-0 Lightning.

The Bruins cut into their deficit at 2:04 of the second period.

Brad Marchand sent a pass back to Charlie McAvoy at the point for a one-timer past Andrei Vasilveskiy’s glove. 2-1 game.

The Bruins tied the game on a delayed call at 16:23 of the second period.

After an all-around effort by Marchand to set up and control the play, he put a wrist shot on net. Out front, James van Riemsdyk picked up the loose puck and tipped in a shot through Vasilveskiy’s five-hole. 2-2 game.

Overtime/Shootout:

Brayden Point scored the lone goal in the shootout to give the Lighting a 3-2 shootout win.

Game notes:

• While the outcome wasn’t necessarily the bounce back win the Bruins were hoping for, it was a big extra point and come back on a night honoring their captain. Pastrnak talked after the game about Marchand’s work ethic and it all being in one jersey.
• Marchand had this to say postgame about hitting 1,000 games tonight: “It’s special. I know how fortunate I am to be apart of this organization and one organization in my career…It flies by and you really have to enjoy every game…I can’t believe how fast it’s gone.”
• He also added that he stopped thinking about milestones like this a while ago when he knew it would become a reality. He said he has bigger goals on his mind to help his team achieve collectively: “It was something I wanted to hit until I realized I was going to achieve it,” Marchand said. “The way I’ve always worked is set a goal that seems unattainable at the time and I worked to achieve it. Once this one became in sight, I set bigger goals.”
• The powerless power play was the most problematic area for the Bruins tonight — and in the past couple games.
• Montgomery said the power play made poor decisions and didn’t have fast enough puck movement. They did have a few good looks, but the Lightning’s PK was able to counter them and get their sticks in between passes.
• What Pastrnak had to say on the power play: “I thought we did have good looks. We were around, but didn’t go in. It’s always better to have the looks, but it’s definitely frustrating. We had a lot of opportunities to put the game away or get us the lead…for me, the power play, you have to create momentum…sometimes it takes a while to turn things around, but we have some work to do.”
• Although the power play and Marchand’s 1,000th game were two of the more predominant story lines, Ullmark had an impactful game. Ullmark made 23 saves in the shootout loss. He regrouped after that bad goal in the first period to make some important and timely saves throughout the game.
• The Bruins continue their homestand on Thursday, Feb. 15 as the Seattle Kraken come to the TD Garden for a 7 p.m. puck drop.