Recap: Bruins lose a close one in Tampa, 3-1

No cigar.

Asking for a sweep against Florida and Tampa on back-to-back nights was always going to be a tall order, and while the Bruins put forth a decent performance, it ultimately wasn’t enough.

Brayden Point scored his 42nd goal of the season on a wraparound early in the second period, and that would stand up as the game-winning goal in an eventual 3-1 win by the Bolts.

Danton Heinen scored the Bruins’ lone goal late in the first period, while Nikita Kucherov added an empty-netter with 30 seconds left to seal it.

The win extended the Lightning’s point streak to eight games and brought them within two points of Toronto for third in the Atlantic — though Toronto has a game in hand.

Michael Chaffee got things started for Tampa midway through the first period, taking advantage of a quick Lightning re-entry to make it 1-0 Tampa.

A good forecheck led to a turnover, which Heinen converted for his 15th of the year late in the first period to make it a 1-1 game.

Midway through the second period, Point beat Linus Ullmark and the Bruins’ defense with a wraparound effort, making it 2-1 Tampa.

The Bruins had some decent looks from there on out, including two power play tries that came up empty.

Kucherov’s empty-netter sealed the deal, 3-1 Tampa final.

Game notes

• I’m not sure I would have called it a “scheduled loss,” but I had relatively low expectations for the Bruins heading into tonight. The effort was there for the most part, but they were out-executed by Tampa. It happens.
• Andrei Vasilevskiy, who hasn’t had his best season statistically, was excellent for Tampa, making one or two huge stops and even assisting on Kucherov’s empty-netter.
• Speaking of that goal, it was an interesting tactic by Tampa, as Kucherov basically just waited in the neutral zone when the Bruins dumped it in. Tampa got possession, tossed it down the ice, and that was it.
• Heinen continues to be one of the season’s best value finds, earning his 15th goal and 30th point tonight. He rose from a tryout to a guy who has outscored some pretty big (and expensive) names.
• James van Riemsdyk didn’t have his best night, getting beaten to the net by Chaffee on the opening goal and then taking a hooking penalty (also against Chaffee) two minutes later. He skated under ten minutes on the night.
• The B’s managed to stay out of penalty trouble for the most part, with the aforementioned hooking call on JVR leading to Tampa’s only power play.
• Jim Montgomery noted postgame that he didn’t like his team’s forechecking tonight, while crediting Tampa for being more effective on their forecheck. I might just be making excuses, but that seems like something that would be affected by tired legs.

The B’s will now have some time off to recuperate, with their next game in Washington on Saturday night.

In terms of “playoff watch” on Thursday, we have:

• Leafs vs. Capitals
• Islanders vs. Panthers
• Red Wings vs. Hurricanes