Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 11/21/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

Where to watch: BSSUNX, NESN

DraftKings: Lightning -115, Bruins -105

FanDuel: Lightning -115, Bruins -105

BetMGM: Lightning -115, Bruins -105

Caesars: Lightning -115, Bruins -105

Bruins: 16-2-0 (32 points)

Lightning: 11-6-1 (23 points)

Bruins: won six straight; won 6-1 vs. Blackhawks on Saturday

Lightning: won four straight; won 3-2 (OT) at Predators on Saturday

Huzzah for everyone to give us an Eastern Conference heavyweight battle on this Monday before Thanksgiving. Not sure we expected the Boston Bruins to be right there making that happen, but it’ll be fun Monday to see the Bruins take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in a battle of winning streaks.

The best team in the NHL just keeps on finding ways to win. Boston won 6-1 against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. It was Boston’s 11th straight win at home, tying the NHL record to begin the season. David Pastrnak scored twice, and Charlie McAvoy had four assists to pace the Bruins.

"It's a special team," Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron said. "We have a lot of depth, and I think it shows. Everyone is contributing, everyone is valued, and I think everyone has confidence, and I think that's the biggest thing, right?"

It’s just another notch in the great start that coach Jim Montgomery has put together. He’s put his stamp on a group that overcame injuries and is off to such a great start.

"It was a pretty dominant performance," Montgomery said. "Right from the start, we played pretty well. If you have to get picky, I think we got a little careless with the puck. We tried to get too perfect because we had the puck so much, but it was a really good game."

One way to prove you are the measuring stick in the league right now is to beat the measuring stick. The Lightning have started to find their way, winning four straight following a 3-2 overtime win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Steven Stamkos scored for the third straight game with the overtime winner, and he wouldn’t have gotten there if Alex Killorn did not tie it with less than 4 minutes remaining in regulation.

"It was one of those games where both goaltenders were playing really well," said Stamkos, who has scored in three straight games. "We had some really good chances early in the game, their guy made some good saves, [Andrei Vasilevskiy] made some big saves. … Just create an opportunity in overtime. If you get a power play, you want to bury it. We did that. It was a just a good character win for our group."

The one thing you can be sure about with the lightning is that even in their myriad of struggles this season, they will still find a way to come back at you and they will still find a way to play up to their competition when it's a big game period it doesn't matter if it's November or if it's March. Tampa Bay usually plays well up to their competition and will find a way to stay in this game.

While the Bruins have played well and still have this ability to beat good teams, I feel like it is in this position to believe that Boston is due for a clunker. And I think the ones seem to do it is the team that has been to the Stanley Cup final for three straight years, and Tampa really needs a game like this to put some doubters to bed. Lightning win 3-1

Bruins are 312-282 on the road when playing their third game in 5 days since 1996.

Lightning are 91-80 at home after winning 4 of 5 since 1996.

Lightning are 8-13 after a 4-game unbeaten streak the last 3 seasons.

Bruins are 96-92 after a 4-game unbeaten streak since 1996.

Bruins:

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall -- David Krejci -- Jake DeBrusk

Trent Frederic -- Charlie Coyle -- Pavel Zacha

Nick Foligno -- Tomas Nosek -- A.J. Greer

Matt Grzelcyk -- Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm -- Connor Clifton

Anton Stralman -- Brandon Carlo

Linus Ullmark

Lightning:

Brandon Hagel -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov

Steven Stamkos -- Nicholas Paul -- Alex Killorn

Ross Colton -- Vladislav Namestnikov -- Corey Perry

Pat Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Rudolfs Balcers

Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak

Mikhail Sergachev -- Ian Cole

Haydn Fleury -- Zach Bogosian

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Points: David Pastrnak -- 28

Goals: David Pastrnak -- 11

Assists: David Pastrnak -- 17

Goalie: Linus Ullmark -- 12-1-1, 1.89 GAA, .937 SV%

Points: Nikita Kucherov -- 28

Goals: Nikita Kucherov -- 10

Assists: Nikita Kucherov -- 18

Goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy -- 7-5-1, 2.84 GAA, .909 SV%