Bruins Lose Grip - and the Game - in Costly Collapse Against Lightning
The Boston Bruins had everything going their way on Sunday night. Up 5-1 in the second period of a marquee Stadium Series matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium, it looked like the Black and Gold were about to cruise to a statement win. Instead, they unraveled - and fast.
What started as a dominant performance turned into a cautionary tale of what happens when discipline disappears. A delay of game penalty on Jeremy Swayman cracked the door open. Then came more infractions, and suddenly the Bruins were giving Tampa Bay extended 5-on-3 power play time - the kind of opportunity you just can’t afford to hand a team with that much firepower.
The Lightning didn’t waste it.
What was once a four-goal cushion evaporated into a 5-4 lead by the end of the second period. Tampa tied it midway through the third and sealed the comeback with an overtime winner, taking the game 6-5 and leaving Boston with just a single point in a game they had firmly in their grasp.
After the game, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm didn’t sugarcoat it. He’s addressed this issue before - Boston’s tendency to take untimely, undisciplined penalties - and this one stung.
“We didn’t have our composure, I would say,” Sturm admitted postgame. “It started with Charlie’s penalty there.
They were just better than us after the whistle. I don’t think they were better than us today hockey-wise.
But they were better than us after the whistle.”
That’s a telling quote. Sturm’s not saying the Bruins were outplayed between the lines - he’s saying they lost the mental battle. Tampa Bay didn’t out-skate or out-shoot Boston; they outlasted them in the moments where poise matters most.
“They’re not tougher than us,” Sturm added. “But they did a good job. We just lost our composure a little bit, and it cost us a point, unfortunately.”
It’s a fair assessment. This wasn’t about talent.
It wasn’t about effort. It was about control - or the lack of it.
And against a team like the Lightning, who know how to capitalize on chaos, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Boston still walks away with a point, but that’s little consolation when you consider the position they were in. Up 5-1 in the second period?
That’s a game you close out. That’s a game where you tighten up, play smart, and let the clock work in your favor.
Instead, they gave Tampa Bay life - and the Lightning didn’t need a second invitation.
There’s no question the Bruins are a talented, battle-tested team. But if they want to make a deep run this spring, they’ll need to clean up the mental lapses.
Because in the postseason, one bad penalty can swing a series. On Sunday night, it swung a game.