Lightning Captain Salutes Teammates’ Fights Against Bruins
The Bruins got their revenge against the Lightning, but Tampa Bay wasn’t completely drowning in sorrows.
Boston quickly jumped to a 4-0 lead through two periods and secured a 6-2 win over the Lightning at TD Garden on Tuesday. The Black and Gold entered the game shorthanded with Mark Kastelic out due to a cross-check from the last time the sides met.
Trent Frederic took it to defenseman Emil Lilleberg and Nikita Zadorov also dropped the gloves. The Lightning were proud of what the fights meant despite the results.
“Lilly is tough as nails, and Frederic is a tough customer as well,” captain Victor Hedman told reporters, per Tampa Bay manager of media relations Benjamin Pierce. “So it was a good fight and gave us a lot of energy, and (Erik Cernak) too, sticking up. We’ve got a lot of gamers in this room.”
Jeremy Swayman called out the Lightning’s “unacceptable” actions from their last matchup and was proud of how the Bruins handled business. The feeling was mutual on the other bench.
“That definitely gave life to our bench. It was a good tilt, a couple bombs thrown on both sides,” Paul told reporters, per Pierce. “Got the boys on the bench standing up, got the energy going. From there when you see a guy do that, it just gives you that extra energy and you gotta make sure that fight wasn’t for no reason.”
Tampa Bay outshot Boston 45-to-24, but the Bruins got the result they wanted and will get a chance to rest up until they face the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.