BOSTON — Nothing strikes faster than the Lightning.

Tampa Bay scored one goal on a penalty shot, another on a 2-on-0 break and two others before Bruins transgressors could get comfortable in the penalty box while beating the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Sunday night to win its sixth straight game.

Ryan Callahan had two goals and an assist, and Steven Stamkos scored for the sixth game in a row to help the Lightning pull ahead of the Bruins in the Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay scored on its first two power plays – needing just 31 seconds the first time and 6 the next.

“Our power play’s been struggling. There’s no doubt about that,” said Callahan, whose team had scored just twice in 36 man-advantages over the previous 10 games.

Stamkos scored his 28th of the season and added an assist, and Alex Killorn also had a goal and an assist.

Former University of Maine goalie Ben Bishop made 32 saves for the Lightning.

Advertisement

Kevan Miller scored Boston’s only goal and Tuukka Rask stopped 26 shots for the Bruins, who ended a two-game winning streak. Boston was 0 for 6 on the power play.

Miller gave Boston a 1-0 lead 6 minutes in before Zac Rinaldo was sent off for hitting Cedric Paquette in the head against the boards. Thirty-one seconds into the power play, Killorn made it 1-1.

About 3 minutes later, the Lightning made it 2-1 when Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid fell at the blue line, sending Callahan and Killorn free on a 2-on-0.

“You don’t practice those too often,” Callahan said. “But it’s good to bury it.”

Tampa Bay’s next power play came with 8:11 gone in the second, when Patrice Bergeron was penalized for interfering with the goalie. The Lightning won the faceoff and slid the puck back to the blue line for Stamkos, whose shot was tipped in by Callahan.

Two minutes later, Stamkos broke free before he cut in front of Brad Marchand and was taken down in front of the crease. On the penalty shot, he faked left, moved to the right and left Rask on the ice before putting the puck into the open net to make it 4-1.

“That’s part of the story tonight: The self-inflicted mistakes that we made, the amount of breakaways and those kind of things,” Bruins Coach Claude Julien said. “The penalty kill wasn’t good enough for us, and then the power play … we didn’t produce.”

Stamkos’ 28 goals are seventh-most in the league. He had scored just twice in the previous 13 games before his current streak.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.