BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins closed out their three-game homestand with a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday afternoon at TD Garden.
The Bruins got behind early as Anthony Cirelli scored twice in the first period for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Yanni Gourde then snapped one in from the slot to open the second period and make it 3-0 at 00:39.
Casey Mittelstadt got Boston on the board less than a minute later. The forward finished a tic-tac-toe play with his linemates, Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson, while breaking into the offensive zone. Mittelstadt’s wrist shot at 1:09 marked his second goal of the season and brought the game to a 3-1 scoreline.
“I knew it. There was no question in my mind that we were going to stay in the game even though we were down 2-0,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “I know my guys will respond. The thing is, it is hard in this league to chase the game.”
The Lightning struck back with a tally from Potus Holmberg at 3:37, but Jordan Harris worked to close the gap with his first goal as a Bruin. The defenseman carried the puck up ice before lasering it past Jonas Johansson from the left side, making it 4-2 at 5:31. Harris has two points in the two games he’s played in the Black & Gold, and is skating on the second pair with Andrew Peeke.
“Really cool. It’s something that I’ve dreamed about. It’s something that I’ve seen 1,000 times on TV,” Harris, the Haverhill native, said. “Really special, especially to be able to do it here at home.”
