Bruins Game 80: Clinching Scenarios, Notes, Lines, and How to Watch vs. Lightning

Bruins Game 80: Clinching Scenarios, Notes, Lines, and How to Watch vs. Lightning

After a four-game road trip and three days off, the Boston Bruins (43-26-10) are back on TD Garden ice for the start of their final back-to-back of the 2025-26 regular season.

The road trip did not go to plan, though; the B’s went 0-2-2 and have not won a game since March 31. They scored one goal in each of their first three games, then five was not enough in the last game.

The Bruins will face the Tampa Bay Lightning (48-25-6) for the second straight Saturday, and they are coming into Boston on a three-game skid. They are on the final game of a four-game road trip… sound familiar?

Tampa Bay’s last win came against Boston last week, and they are 3-0-0 against the Bruins this season.

The Bruins have a 98.7% chance to make the postseason, per MoneyPuck. Their magic number is two, according to Hockey Magic Numbers. They have an opportunity to book their ticket on Saturday; there’s a simple way, and two more complicated routes.

Win: If the Bruins win, they clinch a playoff berth.

OT/SO loss: If the Bruins lose and gain a point, they need the Devils to beat the Red Wings and one of the following:

1. Senators beat Islanders in any fashion
2. Jets beat Flyers in any fashion

Loss: If the Bruins lose, they need the Devils to beat Detroit in regulation, as well as one of the following:

1. Senators beat Islanders in regulation
2. Jets beat Flyers in regulation

And no, James Hagens will not make his Bruins debut today. He made the trip up I-95 on Wednesday, signed his entry-level contract, and practiced with the Bruins on Thursday and Friday.

Bruins Morning Skate Notes

Marco Sturm will meet with the media approximately 90 minutes before puck drop to announce any lineup changes.

Expected Bruins Lines

Forwards

Morgan Geekie – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak

Casey Mittelstadt – Pavel Zacha – Viktor Arvidsson

Mikey Eyssimont – Fraser Minten – Marat Khusnutdinov

Tanner Jeannot – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic

Defensemen

Jonathan Aspirot – Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm – Mason Lohrei

Nikita Zadorov – Andrew Peeke

Source: Practice yesterday

Starting Goalie

Jeremy Swayman (30-17-4, 2.77 GAA, .906 SV%)

Source: Unconfirmed

Expected Lightning Lines

Forwards

Jake Guentzel – Anthony Cirelli – Nikita Kucherov

Gage Goncalves – Brayden Point

Zemgus Girgensons – Yanni Gourde – Oliver Bjorkstrand

Jakob Pelletier – Nick Paul – Corey Perry

Defensemen

JJ Moser – Declan Carlile

Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak

Charle-Edouard D’Astous – Emil Lilleberg

Darren Raddysh

Source: Last game (11 fwd + 7 def)

Starting Goalie

Andrei Vasilevskiy (37-15-4, 2.32 GAA, .912 SV%)

Source: Unconfirmed

Special Teams

Bruins

• Power play: 23.5% (T-8th)
• Penalty kill: 76.6% (25th)

Lightning

• Power play: 21.2% (14th)
• Penalty kill: 82.5% (3rd)

Season Series

Monday, October 13: @ BOS – Lightning win 6-4

Sunday, February 1: @ TB (Stadium Series) – Lightning win 6-5 (shootout)

Saturday, April 4: @ TB – Lightning win 3-1

Saturday, April 11: Lightning @ Bruins

Upcoming Schedule

Sunday, April 12: Bruins @ Blue Jackets, 6:00 PM

Tuesday, April 14: Devils @ Bruins, 7:00 PM

How To Watch

12:30 PM ET

TV: ABC

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub

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