Bruins open 4-goal lead, add 2 short-handed empty-netters to beat Lightning 6-2

BOSTON (AP) — David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and Parker Wotherspoon scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday night to help the Boston Bruins open a four-goal lead and hold on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2.

Jeremy Swayman made 43 saves for the Bruins, who have won back-to-back games after losing six in a row – their longest losing streak in a decade. Trent Frederic and Brad Marchand also scored as Boston took a 4-0 lead after 26 minutes. Andrew Peeke and Pavel Zacha added short-handed empty-netters with about four minutes left after the Lightning pulled the goalie on a power play.

Conor Geekie and Victor Hedman scored in the second period to cut a four-goal deficit in half. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 18 shots for Tampa Bay, which had won three of its previous four games.

Less than a week after their game ended with a slew of fights in the final seconds, Tuesday’s game featured five different scuffles — twice resulting in matching fighting majors and twice in matching roughing minors. There were only three other penalties in the game.

Takeaways

The Bruins entered the night two points behind Tampa Bay for third place in the Atlantic Division and moved into a tie with the victory.

Key moment

With about 10 minutes left in the game, Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh flattened Bruins forward Cole Koepke with a shoulder to the head. After reviewing the hit, the officials ruled that it was not a penalty.

Key stat

The Bruins gave up a season high in shots for the second straight game and were outshot 45-24. They were outshot 43-18 in a victory over the Panthers on Saturday.

Up Next

The Bruins are at Ottawa on Saturday, and Tampa Bay hosts Anaheim on Thursday night.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL