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Bruins welcome Lightning to Boston

Dec 2, 2010 - 4:04 PM (Sports Network) - The Boston Bruins were able to get December started on a positive note and will try to continue that trend tonight when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden.

The Bruins had lost two straight and four out of five to end November, but they were able to notch an impressive victory Wednesday night in Philadelphia as Tim Thomas recorded his fifth shutout of the season in the 3-0 win over the Flyers.

Thomas made 41 stops to help Boston get some measure of revenge against the Flyers. The last time these teams had faced each other was in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals, which saw the Flyers become just the third team in NHL history to rally from a 3-0 series deficit by winning the last four games.

"I watch them on TV and even last year in the playoffs and they do some pretty funny stuff," Thomas of the Flyers. "It isn't just shooting from the outside and crashing the net, they do a little bit of everything so I was trying to be ready for anything."

Thomas ran his record on the road this season to 9-0-0 and to 12-2-1 overall. It's unclear if he'll get the start tonight or if head coach Claude Julien will give Tuukka Rask the nod.

Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin and Milan Lucic each had a goal for the Bruins in Wednesday's win.

The Bruins are also hoping to get a big part of their offense back tonight as Marc Savard nears his return from post-concussion syndrome. Savard hasn't played in a contest since Game 7 against the Flyers in last year's playoffs, but he is expected to play either tonight or in Saturday's game at Toronto.

Boston has lost its last two home games and is just 4-5-2 in the Garden this season.

The Lightning were able to snap a two-game skid their last time out and the Bolts also won for the sixth time in eight games (6-1-1).

Tampa Bay had won five in a row before losing tilts to Washington and Florida on back-to-back days this weekend. After dropping a shootout decision to the Panthers on Saturday, the Bolts were able to win a close one on Tuesday, edging Toronto, 4-3, in overtime.

Simon Gagne, who was playing in his first game since Oct. 21, scored at the 1:15 mark of OT to lift the Lightning to the road win in Toronto.

Just over a minute into the extra session, Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn tried to leave a drop pass for forward Phil Kessel deep in the Tampa zone, but it was picked off by Lightning defenseman Brett Clark, who fed ahead. Gagne carried down the right wing on a 2-on-1 rush, and cranked home the game-winner from the right circle.

Gagne, who spent the first 11 years of his career with Philadelphia, picked up his first goal with Tampa Bay on the shot. He had missed 18 games with a stiff neck before returning on Tuesday.

"I was nervous. I didn't sleep a lot last night - even this afternoon I was looking for at least a good two hours for a nap, but I could not sleep," Gagne said. "It's hard when you don't play for a month and you're coming back in Toronto. You know it's going to be a tough game. I'm glad this one's over and I'm glad we won the game."

Martin St. Louis notched a pair of goals for the Lightning, including the tying score with nine seconds left in regulation. Ryan Malone also lit the lamp to back 22 saves from Dan Ellis.

Tampa Bay has won four of its last five road games and is 8-6-1 as the visiting team this season. The Bolts will host Colorado on Saturday before heading back out for a three-game road trip.

The Lightning posted a 3-1 win over a visiting Boston club on Nov. 22, giving Tampa wins in two straight and three of the last four meetings in this series. Boston still has five wins in the last nine encounters overall and Tampa has lost three out of four in Beantown.