Boston Bruins (20-6-6, first in the Atlantic Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (15-11-3, sixth in the Atlantic Division)
Tampa, Florida; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Brad Marchand leads Boston into a matchup with Tampa Bay. He ranks fourth in the NHL with 47 points, scoring 18 goals and totaling 29 assists.
The Lightning are 11-6-2 in Eastern Conference games. Tampa Bay leads the league with 6.4 assists per game, led by Nikita Kucherov averaging 0.8.
The Bruins are 7-3-3 against opponents from the Atlantic Division. Boston is fifth in the league shooting 10.8% and averaging 3.4 goals on 31.5 shots per game.
In their last meeting on Oct. 17, Tampa Bay won 4-3.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kucherov leads the Lightning with 31 points, scoring 10 goals and adding 21 assists. Alex Killorn has totaled four goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Marchand has recorded 47 total points while scoring 18 goals and totaling 29 assists for the Bruins. David Pastrnak has scored six goals over the last 10 games for Boston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 6-3-1, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.7 assists, 3.5 penalties and 8.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .924 save percentage.
Lightning: 5-4-1, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.5 assists, 3.9 penalties and 9.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .904 save percentage.
INJURIES: Lightning: Tyler Johnson: out (undisclosed).
Bruins: Brett Ritchie: out (illness).
