Losses in April are hard pills to swallow, especially for a team that rarely loses when leading after two periods.

The Boston Bruins (43-26-8) lost 3-1 to the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning (48-22-6) on Saturday at Benchmark International Arena. Casey Mittelstadt scored the only Bruins’ goal, his 15th of the season, and Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves, but a three-goal third period separated the Lightning from the black and gold.

The Bruins played a very structured 5-on-5 game, especially for the first 40 minutes. They out-attempted the Lightning 49-39 at 5-on-5 and were up 39-22 after two periods, per Natural Stat Trick. 

They outshot the Lightning 11-5 in the second period and held a 1-0 lead.

Image Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick

“We played great, we played a really, really good hockey game 5-on-5,” Marco Sturm said to reporters in Tampa. “We just, that little details now, you know, don’t get the puck in. Maybe on the power play, those… hurting right now, unfortunately.”

The Bruins’ power play went 0-for-4 on Saturday. They have gone 10-for-64 (15.6%) since the Olympic break, which is the fifth-worst in the league. 

“In the past, I think power play gave us an extra boost. [One] we could’ve needed tonight,” Sturm said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t. But those guys need to step up, too, and that second goal is huge. We had those opportunities, and unfortunately, we didn’t grab it.”

“They have a good PK, and obviously, I think we got to move the puck quicker, and you know, maybe trying to get too cute at times,” Casey Mittelstadt said. “Yeah, not our best, but we’ll look at it and learn from it.”

Six of the Bruins’ 22 shots came on the power play. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all of them.

The Bruins entered the game with a 31-0-4 record when leading after two periods.

The game turned in the third period. 

“We didn’t get the puck in there once or twice. We got caught, too,” Marco Sturm said about the third period. “We didn’t do it for 40 minutes. Unfortunately, it happened in the third. But yeah, those are the little details. I think that, unfortunately, it’s going to cost us a few points here. That’s something we have to correct and try to get better.”

The Lightning out-attempted the Bruins 17-10 at 5-on-5, outshot them 10-3, and outscored them 3-0. 

“I think with a team like that, they’re going to sniff at every little chance that you give them,” Jordan Harris said after the game. “I mean, we had some good looks. That game easily could have gone the other way early. I think this time of year, those little things are so important. And you just have to stay diligent on them, and we talk about that in here, and I think we’ve been really mature about all that stuff for the whole year.” 

Harris skated in his first game since March 5, and his seventh of the season.

The Lightning scored two goals from defensemen, one two minutes into the third period and the other with just over five minutes to play. 

Swayman is ready to collect the good and move forward. 

“Any 2-1 game, you’re going to get goals that are magnified,” Jeremy Swayman said after the game. “At the same time, it’s our job to move forward and really take positives. A lot of great things came out of tonight’s game, so that’s what we need to focus on.”

The Bruins are now 31-1-4 when leading after two periods. It is also the first time the Bruins have had back-to-back regulation losses since December 23-27, 2025. 

Even in the loss, the Bruins were helped in the standings. 

The Blue Jackets, Red Wings, and Senators – all teams chasing the Bruins – lost on Saturday. 

The Bruins sit with a 96.9% chance at the postseason, per MoneyPuck. The magic number, even in a loss, fell to seven, according to Hockey Magic Numbers.

They will take on the Philadelphia Flyers (38-26-12) on Sunday at 3:30 PM ET (TNT | HBO Max), who are also tied with the Blue Jackets, Red Wings, and Senators with 88 points. They finish their road trip on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes (49-21-6). 

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