Boston Bruins (25-22-11) at Tampa Bay Lightning (26-21-11), 7:30 p.m.
Sports Network | February 11, 2010
(Sports Network) - While the Boston Bruins have turned to a backup goaltender to rebound from a horrid 10-game stretch, the Tampa Bay Lightning are currently riding one of the hottest netminders in the league.
Tampa Bay's Antero Niittymaki and Boston's Tuukka Rask will likely square off tonight, when their clubs battle at St. Pete Times Forum.
The Lightning signed Niittymaki this offseason to battle Mike Smith for the starting goaltender position, and the Finnish netminder has emerged as the team's top option for now.
Niittymaki, who has made 30 starts to Smith's 28 this year, is 7-0-1 in his last eight starts, holding opponents to a pair of goals or fewer in each outing. He made 39 saves in Tuesday's 3-1 triumph over Vancouver, Tampa Bay's season-high fourth straight win and seventh in its last nine games. That has the Lightning tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference with 63 points, two ahead of the Bruins.
"Obviously, Nitty has definitely earned his keep," said head coach Rick Tocchet. "He's playing really good for us right now."
While Niittymaki has been solid in net, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos have carried the Tampa offense. St. Louis had a pair of third-period goals on Tuesday, including an unassisted short-handed tally, to give him seven goals and 11 points over a seven-game point streak, while Stamkos added a goal and an assist to extend his career-best 10-game point streak. Stamkos has eight goals and eight assists on his burst.
The Lightning, who haven't won five straight since November 7-16, 2007, will try to wrap up a four-game homestand perfect this evening. They have won six of their last seven at home and are 10-1-2 in their last 13 at St. Pete Times Forum.
St. Louis and Stamkos will likely take their shots tonight at Rask, who has started the last four games over reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas. Rask has allowed just six goals in that span, helping the Bruins halt an 0-6-4 slide with a 36-save shutout over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. He then made 43 saves in a 3-2 shootout victory versus Buffalo on Tuesday.
Daniel Paille scored twice in the first period and David Krejci, who left Sunday's win over Montreal with a leg injury, had the game-winner in the fourth round of the shootout.
"I thought we got back to our game in the third," said Boston head coach Claude Julien. "It was a pretty good third period for both teams. We managed to find a way to win in the shootout. That's a big extra point."
Boston improved to 2-0-0 on a four-game road trip before the Olympic break that ends Saturday versus the Florida Panthers .
Tonight is the third meeting of the season between the Bruins and Lightning, with each team winning once so far on home ice. The Lightning notched a 2-1 home win on December 28 for just their fourth win in their last 14 versus the Bruins, who have won six of their last nine at Tampa Bay.
