TAMPA, Fla. — Darren Raddysh broke a tie with 5:31 left and Tampa Bay beat the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Saturday night, hours after the Lightning secured a playoff spot.
The Atlantic Division-leading Lightning wrapped up at least an Eastern Conference wild-card berth with Detroit’s 4-1 loss at the New York Rangers in the afternoon. Boston holds the first wild-card spot in the East but missed a chance to open more breathing room after both Detroit and Ottawa lost earlier.
After assisting on the tying goal by defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous at 2:13 of the third, Raddysh put the Lightning ahead with a sharp-angle shot past goalie Jeremy Swayman from the right side on a break.
Nikita Kucherov added his 42nd goal of the season into an empty net, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves to help the Lightning finish a seven-game homestand 5-1-1.
Casey Mittelstadt scored for Boston in the second period. Swayman stopped 20 shots as the Bruins lost their second straight on a four-game trip. They lost 2-1 at Florida on Thursday night.
Up next
Bruins: At Philadelphia on Sunday
Lightning: At Buffalo on Monday night