Bruins suffer first loss of season, 4-3, to Lightning

Steve Conroy, Boston Herald on Oct 13, 2025

Published in Hockey

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BOSTON — The Boston Bruins showed plenty of gumption, but they could not outhustle their mistakes on Monday at TD Garden.

The B’s had their chances to complete a comeback from a three-goal deficit – incurred by a series of their own miscues – but they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3, suffering their first loss of the young season.

Entering the third period down a goal, the B’s pushed hard in the third period but could not get the equalizer.

They now head out for a tough three-game road trip to Vegas, Colorado and Utah.

The B’s had some brutal puck management issues to start the game that would contribute to a 2-0 deficit. Jake Guentzel created two turnovers that led to both goals.

On the first one, the high-scoring winger picked Charlie McAvoy’s pocket at the Boston blue line and the Bolts went on a quick counter-attack that resulted in an Anthony Cirelli tap-in off a Gage Goncalves pass just 1:09 into the game, Cirelli’s first of two in the period.

At 13:16, they doubled the lead after Nikita Zadorov’s breakout pass attempt from behind his net landed on Guentzel’s tape just inside the B’s blue line. That eventually led to a Cirelli roof shot past Joonas Korpisalo from the top of the crease for his second of the game.

The B’s weren’t completely outplayed in the first period. In fact, they held an 11-9 shot advantage. Their best chance came late when a McAvoy off-wing slapshot produced a fat rebound for David Pastrnak but, with half the net at which to shoot, the puck bounced over his blade.

The second period turned into a track meet, with four goals scored in the first 5:31. And there was more sloppiness from the Bruins. The Bolts took a 3-0 lead just 39 seconds in. Andrew Peeke tried to carry the puck up the boards on his off side but, after Mike Eyssimont left the zone anticipating a pass, the puck rolled off Peeke’s stick and J.J. Moser stepped up to send it back into the zone. With the B’s scrambling, Yanni Gourde had a wide open net for the 3-0 goal.

The B’s finally got on the board 30 seconds later when Casey Mittelstadt beat Jonas Johansson with a sharp wrister on a 3-on-2 off the rush.

Tampa benefited from a non-call when Pontus Holmberg held McAvoy as the Bruin defenseman was retrieving a puck in his own zone. The Bolts controlled the puck and Holmberg would eventually come back out front for another easy goal at 3:37.

To their credit, the B’s kept coming.

Jordan Harris cut the deficit to two again when he kept the puck on a 2-on-1 and beat Johansson with a shortside wrist shot. Erik Cernak had stepped up the blue line but a good, short pass from Pastrnak sent Harris on his way.

Then on a 4-on-4, the B’s made it a game again when, off a Pavel Zacha faceoff win, Morgan Geekie sneaked a snapshot through a crowd and past Johansson at 11:35.

The B’s nearly tied it up on an otherwise sloppy power play when Mason Lohrei chimed the crossbar, but they went into the third down a goal.

The B’s had a chance to even it up when Goncalves tripped Viktor Arvidsson at 6:05 of the third, but they could not capitalize.

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