Tampa Bay Lightning Visit Boston Bruins In Rematch Of Eastern Conference Finals

WHEN: Oct. 9th at 7:00 PM

WHERE: TD Garden 

MEDIA: TV: Sun Sports, NESN, NHL Network Radio: 970 WFLA

Vincent Lecavalier and the Tampa Bay Lightning continue their five game road trip Saturday night in Boston with rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Bruins. Saturday's game is the Lightning's second in as many nights.

Tampa Bay (1-0-0) opened its season with a decisive 5-1 victory over their South East division rival, the Carolina Hurricanes. The Lightning had five unanswered goals in the game, including two power play goals, one from Vincent Lecavalier and the other from Steve Downie. The Lightning's penalty kill also came up big against the Hurricanes, killing all five of Carolina's power plays. Dwayne Roloson played solid between the pipes, saving 32 of the 33 shots he faced. Roloson will most likely rest against Boston, giving Mathieu Garon his first start as a member of the Lightning. 

The Bruins (0-1-0) dropped their season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night and are trying to avoid their first 0-2 start in six season's. The Bruins had the lead in the first period, but lost it in the first period's final minutes, as Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek both scored quick goals, within 47 seconds of each other. Other than giving up back-to-back goals, Thomas played solid and stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced. In the opener, Boston was limited to only 12 shots in the first period, but look for them to be more active in the offensive zone against the Lightning. Also look for them to generate more production from their power play, that went 1-for-5 against Philadelphia on Thursday. Although it is not official, expect Tukkaa Rask to make his first start in net for the Bruins.

Anticipate a high intensity game from both teams but don't expect the Lightning to be out for revenge against the Bruins. Guy Boucher told the Saint Pete Times: "Whatever has been in the past has to be in the past or you create the wrong kind of emotion," Boucher said. "I've always said when you're looking for revenge, you're not looking out for the task at hand."

He's right and after all, this is the only second game of the season. We have 80 more to go! There's still a certain "aura" surrounding this game though, especially with it falling so early in the season, with the memory of the Conference Finals still fresh in some fans' heads.

In its last six games in Boston (including playoffs), Tampa Bay has lost five meetings, while being outscored 22-13...Tom Pyatt will make his Lightning debut. meaning Blair Jones will sit this one out...This is the second game of the Lightning's five game road trip.