Wednesday night in Tampa Bay always had the makings of a potential letdown for the Bruins.

That was before Boston’s gutsy, emotionally-charged victory over the Panthers on Tuesday night, but also especially after that victory. While hopping from Sunrise to Tampa isn’t exactly like switching timezones or anything more than a quick flight, the emotional hangover of a ‘winner takes first place’ game was to be expected. And it didn’t help that the Lightning were returning to their home ice after five games away from Amalie Arena, and with a seven-game point streak (6-0-1) to their name.

And though the Bruins ultimately hung with the Lightning to a 1-1 draw through 20 minutes of action, it was clear that the Black and Gold’s legs got heavier, and that the team was unable to muster what they needed to lift themselves above the Lightning in what finished as a 3-1 loss to their Atlantic Division rival.

“I didn’t think either team was really on top of their game, to be honest,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery admitted after the loss. “I don’t think [the Lightning] were as sharp as they’ve been, and the intensity and the emotion in the game was not for us as it was [against the Panthers] last night.

“I think more last night, there was a lot of emotion in that game. The physical product also contributes. And you win a big game like that, we’re sky high. But then we gotta come back and play an elite team in the league again. It’s a hard schedule.”

With the loss, the Bruins finished their season series against the Lightning with four of a possible eight points banked away by way of a 1-1-2 record.

Today's hour with Z&B! ⬇️ https://t.co/x47DewZZMU

— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) March 28, 2024

Bruins split up Lindholm-Carlo pairing

Even with a league-high 74 games in the books, there’s an awful lot of uncertainty when it comes to the Bruins.

One thing that felt like a certainty, however, was the Black and Gold’s second pairing of Brandon Carlo and Hampus Lindholm. That was until Wednesday in Tampa, anyway, as Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery decided to split the duo up in the midst of what’s been a sluggish stretch for each ahead of a 3-1 loss to the Bolts at Amalie Arena.

And, again, while the case could be made that this move was a long time coming given their recent results as well as the overall strain that’s come with their deployment, it was also a shock and shake-up to what’s been the norm for this Bruins squad.

Entering Wednesday night, just 29 NHL pairings had played more five-on-five time together than the Lindholm-Carlo pairing and their 645:40 of time together this season. The Lindholm-Carlo pairing was also the most-deployed Boston defensive pairing, too, with a 70-minute edge on the second-most deployed Boston pairing (Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy).

Among a group of 53 pairings with at least 500 five-on-five minutes together this season, Lindholm-Carlo ranked last in offensive-zone start percentage (12.97%), and last in offensive-zone faceoff percentage (22.72 percent). And despite that defense-first deployment, the pairing thrived from a results standpoint, with an on-ice save percentage of .938 (eighth-best among that group of 53), while their 28-21 goal differential gave them a goals-for percentage of 57.14 percent, which ranked 19th among that group of 53.

This was a pairing that Montgomery leaned on more than any other to this point.

But there was also no denying that the cracks were beginning to form.

Really since Lindholm returned to action on Mar. 9, this was a pairing that had been victimized more than the Bruins would prefer.

In almost 109 five-on-five minutes together since then, the Lindholm-Carlo pairing had been outscored 9-4, outshot 66-43, and out-chanced 60-40 (per NaturalStatTrick). Their (somehow increased) defensive-zone usage played a significant hand in that — they had a sub-10 percent offensive-zone faceoff percentage — but their struggles were no longer being masked by absurd goaltending either, with an on-ice save percentage of .864. This was a true bottoming out, really. Their goals-for percentage of 30.77 percent was the fourth-worst among 33 pairings with at least 100 five-on-five minutes. Their shots-for percentage was second-worst among that group, and that aforementioned on-ice save percentage was also second-worst among that group of 33 pairings.

Tuesday exposed their flaws further, too, with the Lindholm-Carlo pairing out there for two of Florida’s three goals, and with the Bruins outshot by a 12-2 mark with this pairing out at even-strength play.

It was officially enough for Montgomery and the Bruins.

So, Wednesday came with a notable change, with Lindholm to the left of Andrew Peeke on Boston’s second pairing, while Carlo was demoted to the right of Parker Wotherspoon to make up the Black and Gold’s third pairing.

How’d that go?

Speaking after the loss, Montgomery admitted that he didn’t have any real hard opinions on the changes just yet (such is often the case in the immediate aftermath of a game), but he did note that he felt that the breakouts could’ve been better from the defense as a whole (he didn’t cite any specific pairings when making that point).

In an obviously microscopic sample size, the Lindholm-Peeke pairing seems to be off to a decent start from a raw metric standpoint, as the Bruins held a 12-6 advantage in shots on goal with this pairing out there despite a mostly defensive deployment. With that pairing not on the ice at five-on-five, the Bruins, as a team, were outshot by a 22-7 mark.

Lindholm and Peeke also came through with three blocks each.

The thinking here with Lindholm and Peeke is easy to see. They’re both bigger bodies, but Peeke is similar to Carlo in the sense that the Bruins want him to use his size, range, and reach to shut down opportunities. But playing with a player with a slightly lower ceiling than Carlo, the onus is on Lindholm to make some offensive plays and push the pace the other way.

Getting Lindholm’s confidence back at the offensive end is an absolute must for the Bruins, too.

It’s also not out of the realm of possibility, either. From Dec. 31 to the injury Lindholm sustained in a Feb. 19 head-to-head with the Stars, Lindholm ranked 19th among all NHL defensemen in points, with 12 in 22 games. His plus-17 rating over that span, meanwhile, was third-best among NHL defenders, trailing only McAvoy’s plus-21 and the plus-18 from Florida’s Gustav Forsling.

If the Bruins can tap back into that version of Lindholm, and give the Bruins a balance featuring McAvoy, Lindholm, and Carlo all on different pairings and ‘driving’ their own pairing in the process, they’ll be a significantly more dangerous threat next month.

Everything else

– Bruins winger James van Riemsdyk may very well be playing himself out of the B’s playoff lineup. In his last two outings, van Riemsdyk has taken two penalties. One of them came with the Bruins already on the power play, while the other came in the attacking zone. Both are penalties you simply can’t take. The 34-year-old van Riemsdyk was also on the ice for Tampa Bay’s first goal, and didn’t really have what you’d consider a monster effort to deny the goal. At the same time, it’s worth mentioning that van Riemsdyk is still getting through a sickness, and it’s entirely possible that it’s one that’s wiped him out (like the one that got Trent Frederic in 2021) and that he’s truly starting from scratch.

– This Tampa team is surging at the right time, and I gotta say, I’m not sure that the Bruins should want a piece of them in round one, be it with Tampa moving into the No. 3 spot in the Atlantic or as the East’s top wild card. I think their final 40 minutes of hockey was a perfect example of that makes them dangerous in a seven-game series. It’s not about their offense anymore, but rather their ability to strangle the life out of the opposition in the defensive zone and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s ability to step up and downright deny the opponent any cheapies.

- I hope people are not sleeping on just how good, and how complete, David Pastrnak has played this week. If there's one player who has truly responded to the callout from Montgomery, it's been Pastrnak, which is incredible given the fact that he has more than carried his weight already this season.

Up next: The Bruins are back in action Saturday night against the Capitals.

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, HockeyBuzz.com or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter/X: @_TyAnderson.

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