The Boston Bruins coughed up a 5-1 lead in Sunday’s 2026 Stadium Series outdoor game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium.
After giving up the first goal 11 seconds into the game, the Bruins then scored five unanswered goals. But then the Bruins couldn’t stop taking penalties, and that gave the high-powered Lightning power play a chance to get back into the game.
Tampa Bay took full advantage of the opportunity.
Four unanswered Lightning goals — including three on the power play in the second period (two of which resulted from a lengthy 5-on-3 advantage) — forced overtime, and Tampa Bay ultimately won 6-5 in a shootout.
To be clear, the officiating was pretty bad in this game. Yes, many of the Bruins’ penalties were legitimate, but the Lightning got away with plenty. Tampa Bay should not have had an 8-3 advantage in power-play opportunities.
“We had complete control of the game, and then you give a team with that kind of power play a 5-on-3 for I don’t even know how long it was, you’re just asking for it,” Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy said postgame.
It was a frustrating loss for the Bruins, and one that highlighted the need for them to stay out of the penalty box if they’re going to give themselves a chance to beat quality opponents the rest of the regular season and potentially in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Bruins had a 26-23 edge in shots, a 23-16 advantage in scoring chances, a 9-4 lead in high-danger scoring chances and outscored the Lightning 4-2 during 5-on-5 action. The difference for the Bruins was taking so many penalties.
“We didn’t have our composure, I would say,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm told reporters postgame. “It started with Charlie’s penalty there. They were just better than us after the whistle. I don’t think they were better than us today hockey-wise. But they were better than us after the whistle.
“They’re not tougher than us. But they did a good job. We just lost our composure a little bit, and it cost us a point, unfortunately.”
This was not a unique occurence for the Bruins. They have been taking too many penalties all season.
The B’s lead the league with 279 penalties taken — at least 21 more than any other team. Their minus-49 penalty differential is the worst in the league.
Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov has taken a league-leading 40 penalties. Veteran center Mark Kastelic is fourth with 29.
No team has been shorthanded more than Boston’s 209 times, and the penalty kill’s 77 percent success rate ranks 27th out of 32 teams. The Bruins’ penalty kill probably isn’t as bad as that 77 percent would suggest, but Boston could lessen the burden on that group by being more disciplined.
The Bruins did get a point from Sunday’s defeat, giving them a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games. They occupy the first wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings with a 32-20-4 record (68 points) as of Monday.
The Bruins have done a great job improving in most facets of their game since dropping to the third-worst record in the East on Dec. 30. Since then, they have the league’s second-best record (12-2-2) while ranking No. 1 in goals scored (67), No. 6 in fewest goals allowed (44) and No. 2 in power-play percentage (33.3).
But the Bruins also have taken the most penalties and have been shorthanded the second-most times in that span, too. Boston has shown an impressive ability to fix different aspects of its performance all season. One area that hasn’t seen any improvement is the discipline to not take a ton of penalties.
If the Bruins can get that under control and play with more composure, they could actually become a tough out come playoff time — assuming they qualify.