Emil Lilleberg scores late as Lightning beat Bruins 2-1; Boston clinches playoff spot later

BOSTON (AP) — Emil Lilleberg scored on a rebound with 95 seconds left to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Saturday, snapping a three-game losing streak.

Deprived of the chance to win and get in, Boston clinched hours later when Detroit lost in regulation to New Jersey and the Red Wings were eliminated from contention.

Brandon Hagel also scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 shots for Tampa Bay, which had already clinched a spot in the postseason but had fallen to third in the Atlantic Division.

Morgan Geekie scored and Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves for Boston, which has lost five in a row. The Bruins fell to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with their loss and Ottawa’s victory at the New York Islanders.

The Bruins broke the scoreless tie midway through the second period when Charlie McAvoy found Geekie streaking through the middle of the ice, ahead of the defense. Geekie gathered the puck as he crossed between the faceoff circles and beat Vasilevskiy glove side, just inside the post.

Tampa Bay tied it with 13 minutes left when Hagel got behind the Bruins defense and wristed it through Swayman’s legs. It stayed that way until Swayman left a rebound to his left and Lilleberg was there to punch it in.

Up next

Tampa Bay: Wrap things up with home games against Detroit on Monday and the Rangers on Wednesday.

Boston: Visit Columbus on Sunday and host New Jersey on Tuesday to finish the regular season.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/nhl