BOSTON — The Lightning’s first win of the season was anything but perfect, but in an opening week that already had become a grind they had to overcome a lot in order to salvage a 4-3 victory over the Bruins Monday afternoon at TD Garden.
It went down to the final moments, with Boston on a 5-on-3 in the Tampa Bay zone. The Lightning couldn’t get the puck out, and three icing calls in the final four minutes forced them to win the game in the faceoff circle, where they had been horrendous all day.
But Anthony Cirelli won a defensive-zone faceoff with nine seconds left, and the ensuing clear finally gave Tampa Bay a win and handed Boston its first loss.
“We knew we had to come out hungrier and harder,” Cirelli said. “And for the most part, thought we did. That was a team over there that did