Boston Bruins vs Nashville Predators
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TVAS, Sportsnet Ontario, NESN (Boston), FSN Tennessee (Nashville)
PREDICTION: Bruins 3, Predators 2

Oddsmakers currently have the BOSTON listed as -120-moneyline favorites versus the NASHVILLE, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

The Nashville Predators ended a frustrating first half of the season with an emphatic bang, one they hope will serve as a springboard to improvement.

The second half begins Thursday night when the Boston Bruins arrive at Bridgestone Arena for the teams’ first meeting of the year. Boston is eager to cap an already successful road trip on a high note.

The Bruins (22-17-5) are coming off a 5-3 win Tuesday night in St. Louis that improved their record to 2-0-1 on a four-game journey. Boston led 4-0 just 1:31 into the second period, the Bruins wound up outshooting the Blues 39-17 as Brad Marchand tallied twice.

Meanwhile, Nashville (18-16-7) won in the most dramatic fashion imaginable Tuesday night. Calle Jarnkrok scored the first overtime short-handed goal in franchise history at 4:58, delivering a stunning 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

“We found a way to win in OT,” said Predators coach Peter Laviolette, whose team was 1-7 prior to Tuesday night in games decided past regulation. “Hopefully, we can learn something from this. OT is weird. They get a penalty and go on the power play but we scored the game-winner.”

The result was just Nashville’s third win in its past 11 home games, a big reason why the team is just 7-8-4 since Dec. 3 and currently on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.

However, the Predators continue to battle injuries in addition to inconsistency. They skated without All-Stars P.K. Subban (upper body) and James Neal (upper body) on Tuesday night, as well as Colin Wilson (lower body). Viktor Arvidsson returned Tuesday from a two-game absence caused by an upper-body injury, but he was not part of practice on Wednesday, raising concerns about his availability for the Boston game.

With so many injuries to deal with, Nashville is plugging third- and fourth-liners into bigger roles. One taking advantage of additional ice time is the bruising Austin Watson, who has scored goals in consecutive games while supplying good defense and a physical presence.

“He’s been playing fast, playing physical for us,” Laviolette said of Watson. “He’s been chipping in on offense. He’s been going to the hard areas in the paint where you score goals.”

Watson’s marker against Vancouver was a classic example. He worked his way to the net’s front and was in prime position to collect the rebound of Mike Fisher’s errant point shot for a goal 35 seconds into the second period.

If the Predators are to win their final home game before a five-game trip, they probably will need more than two goals against Boston. Led by Marchand’s 15 goals and 23 assists, and David Pastrnak’s 19 goals, the Bruins can explode in any game despite averaging just under 2.5 goals per game.

“I think the guys are really buying into trying to play hard here,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “There’s a lot of pride in our dressing room, and we just got to keep showing it.”

Julien’s biggest concern going into this one is injuries to his defense corps. Adam McQuaid (upper body) and Colin Miller (lower body) were knocked out in the third period at St. Louis, leaving the Bruins with just four defensemen. McQuaid could play Thursday night, but Miller is doubtful.

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Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, December 12, 2016
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet, NESN (Boston), RDS (Montreal)
PREDICTION: Canadiens 3, Bruins 2

Oddsmakers currently have the Canadiens listed as 145-moneyline favorites versus the Bruins, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens’ offense is on fire. The Boston Bruins are hoping wholesale line changes ignite a spark of their own as they get set to clash with their long-time rivals on Monday night at the Bell Centre.

Coming off a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs a night earlier and with a tilt against the Montreal looming, Bruins coach Claude Julien re-arranged his forward corps on Sunday in an effort to jumpstart an offense that’s averaging just 2.2 goals in six games thus far in December.

David Backes was bumped up to the top line alongside center Patrice Bergeron and left wing Brad Marchand in place of David Pastrnak, who found himself with David Krejci and Tim Schaller. Danton Heinen, called up ahead of Saturday’s game, skated with Ryan Spooner in the middle and Austin Czarnik and Jimmy Hayes alternating on the right side.

“I think sometimes the changes can create some excitement,” Julien told reporters after practice Sunday afternoon. “It’s not the first time, probably won’t be the last time, that we’ve changed. This is just more of a whole overhaul is what you’d call it, versus just changing one or two. Hopefully we’ll get what we’re looking for.”

The Bruins rank in the bottom third of the NHL in goals for, with just 67 on the season. They’ve scored more than three goals just twice in their past seven games, winning only one of those. The power play well has also run dry this month, with just one goal on 15 opportunities.

But it’s not for a lack of effort. Boston has tossed at least 30 shots on goal in nine straight games.

“Offensive frustration is warranted at this point,” Backes told the Boston Globe. “We just haven’t done a good enough job scoring goals.”

The Canadiens, meanwhile, are clicking offensively, scoring at least four goals in three of their last four games. This despite their forward depth taking a hit with long-term injuries to centers Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais.

Montreal exploded for six goals in the first period en route to a 10-1 thrashing of the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. Max Pacioretty, whose goal-scoring struggles were a storyline for the better part of the first two months of the season, scored four goals to take over the team lead. And center Tomas Plekanec, elevated to the top line due to the injuries, recorded four assists and has looked better of late in a season of offensive struggles.

Against Colorado, nine of the 10 goals were at even strength and every line contributed, including fourth liner Brian Flynn connecting for his first two goals of the season.

“When we roll four lines and we skate, I keep saying this, but it’s really hard to defend,” Pacioretty said after the game. “Sometimes teams get a break from speed when the third or fourth line goes out there but not when you play against us. We have four lines that can skate, three sets of D that can skate. When we make it hard on defensemen and teams early, it’s really hard for them to catch up, and pretty much every game we’ve won has been because of that.”

It’s the third meeting of the season between the Canadiens and Bruins, and the final time Boston will visit Montreal this regular season. The Canadiens won the first two meetings.

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Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District Of Columbia

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN
PREDICTION: Capitals 4, Bruins 2

Oddsmakers currently have the Capitals listed as 140-moneyline favorites versus the Bruins, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

WASHINGTON — Two teams that won in overtime Monday meet when the Boston Bruins face the Washington Capitals Wednesday night at Verizon Center.

Boston (15-10-1) brings the momentum, in the form of a three-game winning streak.

After scoring only 21 goals in 11 games, the Bruins defeated the Florida Panthers 4-3 as David Pastrnak scored two goals, including the highlight-reel game-winner.

The 20-year-old winger is third in the NHL with 15 goals in 21 games, matching the number he netted in 51 games last season.

“He’s coming into his own, there’s no doubt about that,” Bruins coach Claude Julien told the Boston Globe. “Confidence wise, it’s at its highest right now, and rightfully so … nice goal, great way for us to finish with that goal.”

Washington (14-7-3) got a similar performance in its 3-2 victory over the Sabres. Marcus Johansson continued his standout season, scoring with 6:18 left in the third period to tie it and adding the game-winner with 2:22 left in overtime to help the Capitals snap a three-game losing streak.

Johansson, whose career-high is 20 goals in 2014-15, has four goals in his last five games and 11 on the season. His third-period tally came on a power play, good news for the struggling Capitals, who rank 23rd in the league, converting 15.2 percent, well below the league average of 17.9 percent.

“That’s what we need from the power play and I think the last few years, that’s what we’ve gotten too,” Johansson told NHL.com. “We have a good power play, we’ve gotten results from it and just hasn’t bounced our way. I think we’ve been making it a little bit too hard and not really taking what’s there.”

Washington’s offense could get help against the Bruins with the possible return of winger T.J. Oshie. He scored eight goals and four assists in the first 17 games before missing the past seven with a shoulder injury.

“I don’t think it’s official,” Oshie said of his return after practicing Tuesday. “I still have got to talk to (coach Barry Trotz) and everything. But yeah, I got into a real practice for a change here and felt pretty good out there, so we’ll see where we go.”

Trotz said the decision on Oshie’s return will be made Wednesday. Washington is 3-3-1 minus the winger.

“Without a doubt, I think Osh in that diamond spot is as good as anybody in the National Hockey League,” Trotz said. “I think he’s tenacious. I think he understands that position, especially on our power play.”

Alex Ovechkin has 17 goals and 21 assists in 39 games against Boston and Nicklas Backstrom has 26 assists in 28 games.

Goalie Braden Holtby is 9-2 with a 1.57 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage when facing Boston.

Bruins netminder Tuuka Rask (14-4-1, 1.68, .939) struggles versus Washington, going 1-8-4 with a 2.92 GAA and .899 save percentage. Meanwhile Anton Khudobin is 4-2-1 with a 2.41 GAA and .923 save percentage in his career versus Washington.

The Bruins have gotten mixed news on the injury front the past few days.

Injured winger Frank Vatrano skated with the team for the first time this season during Tuesday’s practice. He had eight goals and three assists in 34 games as a rookie in 2015-16.

“This is the first time I’ve had an injury and hopefully it’s the last time, but you never know playing this sport,” Vatrano, who suffered torn ligaments in his left foot, told the Boston Globe. “I’ve never been off the ice this long so it’s been a learning process for me.”

On the flip side, the Bruins announced that winger Matt Beleskey, injured in Saturday’s win over the Sabres, will be out six weeks with a knee injury. He had two goals and three assists in 24 games.

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Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, December 5, 2016
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet, TVA, FSN Florida, NESN (Boston)
PREDICTION: Bruins 3, Panthers 2

“I feel good,” Rask told reporters after making a season-high 35 saves in the 2-1 victory over Buffalo on Saturday. “I’m seeing the puck well. Guys are doing a great job keeping them on the outside and clearing the rebounds for the most part, so that helps out.” Rask is 16-3-1 in 20 career games against the Panthers, who join Boston in the bottom-third of the league in scoring. Florida is 1-1-1 since general manager Tom Rowe took over as coach for the fired Gerard Gallant and has managed just two goals in regulation during that span. Leading scorer Jonathan Marchessault (10 goals, 19 points) suffered a lower-body injury in the Panthers’ 2-0 loss at Ottawa on Saturday and is day-to-day.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (12-11-2): Florida ends a tumultuous six-game road trip with the Atlantic Division battle against the Bruins and Tuesday’s contest in Philadelphia after scoring only five times over the first four contests. Vincent Trocheck and defenseman Aaron Ekblad are tied for second on the team in goals with six and Aleksander Barkov trails only Marchessault with 15 points. The Panthers are awaiting the first point of the season from center Nick Bjugstad, who missed the first 19 games with a broken hand.

ABOUT THE BRUINS (14-10-1): Boston has scored fewer than three goals in 18 of its 25 games this season and is 0-for-10 on the power play over the last three contests, dropping to 23rd in the league (14.3 percent) after Saturday’s action. David Pastrnak is among the league leaders with 13 goals – nine of them coming in a 12-game span before notching an assist in each of his last two contests. Matt Beleskey (lower body) left Saturday’s contest and veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara (lower body) could miss his seventh straight game.

OVERTIME

1. Florida recalled RW Paul Thompson from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Sunday with Marchessault banged up.

2. Boston LW Brad Marchand leads the team with 21 points, but only six have come in 11 home games.

3. Panthers RW Jaromir Jagr has notched 12 points this season to push his career total to 1,880 – seven shy of tying Mark Messier for second place on the all-time list.

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“I’m not talking about anything ahead of Game 5,” the Pittsburgh captain said when asked about a potential Eastern Conference final against the Boston Bruins.

But after the Penguins’ 7-3 victory Wednesday night, it’s hard to imagine Crosby and his teammates aren’t starting to think about facing the Bruins, who are up 3-0 over the New York Rangers.

Jarome Iginla and James Neal each scored twice, Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis added goals, and Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves. Down 2-1 after the first period, the Penguins scored twice in a 40-second span early in the second and added four goals in the first 10 minutes of the third.

Milan Michalek, Kyle Turris and Daniel Alfredsson scored for Ottawa. Senators goalie Craig Anderson was benched after Pittsburgh’s sixth goal, and Robin Lehner finished the game.

“There was a sense like, ‘OK, this might take as many shots as we can muster to break this guy.’ And fortunately, we kept on that mindset,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “It was a matter of, ‘We are going to have to fire anything and everything we can at this guy to get one by him.'”

Game 5 is Friday night in Pittsburgh.

“I know what we’re going to do,” Alfredsson said. “We’re going to go out and play one hell of a game. That doesn’t worry me at all. We never quit and that’s not going to stop now. We know the odds are against us in every way, but we never quit and that’s going to continue.”

But Alfredsson also conceded that the Senators faced long odds of rallying against the top-seeded Penguins.

“Probably not,” Alfredsson said, according to NHL.com. “[Pittsburgh’s] depth and our play right now … it doesn’t look too good.

“When you look at what we did, it wasn’t good enough. Does that mean [Pittsburgh] was good? Did we make them good? Who really cares? From our point of view, we didn’t manage the puck [well], we didn’t execute our passes, and subsequently, we got punished in the neutral zone. We turned way too many pucks over and gave them some freebies. It would have been nice to have the lead for a little bit longer, but now we’re back on our heels again. We didn’t shut them down when it matters.”

The 40-year-old captain was seen retrieving the puck at the end of the game, NHL.com reported, but Alfredsson insisted that the puck was a memento for his family and not a sign that he was considering retirement at season’s end.

Senators coach Paul MacLean didn’t take a single question after the game. Instead, he held up the scoresheet and said: “I think everything’s right here. It’s 7-3. See you in Pittsburgh. We’re going to Pittsburgh and we’re coming to play. Have a good night.”

The Senators, coming off a double-overtime victory Sunday night in Game 3, opened the scoring on Michalek’s short-handed goal at 2:29 of the first period. With defenseman Sergei Gonchar in the penalty box, Alfredsson fed the puck up the middle to a streaking Michalek, who broke through the defense and beat Vokoun low on the glove side for Ottawa’s second short-handed goal of the series.

It was the Senators’ first lead of the series. It wouldn’t last.

Neal tied it with 5:04 left in the period, picking up the loose puck in the slot and putting it in the back of the net. Turris put Ottawa back in front off a rebound with 3:45 left in the first.

Pittsburgh tied it early in the second when Kunitz got behind the defense and went in alone to beat Anderson. Less than a minute later, Anderson gave up a rebound on Kris Letang’s shot that landed on the tape of Iginla’s stick to make it 3-2.

Neal started the third-period flurry with a power-play goal at 1:59. Dupuis added a short-handed goal at 8:07, Crosby followed at 8:39, and Iginla scored on a power play at 9:53.

Alfredsson finished the scoring with a late power-play goal for his 100th career playoff point.

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Bergeron, who won last year, was the NHL’s top face-off man this season at 62.1 percent. He ranked sixth overall and led the Bruins in plus-minus with a plus-24 rating and played an average of 2:12 per game with his team short-handed.

“It’s not something I really worry about, to be honest,” Bergeron said Wednesday after the team’s practice at TD Garden as it prepares for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Rangers “It’s a nice honor just to be nominated with these two guys, they’re great players. To be a part of it is great, but at the same time there are a lot more things to worry about. We have a game tomorrow and that’s all I need to focus on right now.”

Bruins coach Claude Julien believes his assistant captain should win his second consecutive Selke Trophy.

“I can tell you right now, I would be extremely disappointed and would’ve been vocal about it had he not been nominated,” Julien said. “This guy here is so good at both ends of the ice, and he keeps proving it year after year. There’s not too many guys in this league that can do what Patrice does.”

Toews, a Selke finalist for the second time, finished third in the NHL in plus-minus with a career-high plus-28 rating and placed second in the NHL in face-off winning percentage with 59.9 percent.

“It’s a good feeling for sure. It’s definitely an honor and something special. You look at the other two players nominated and its an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as those two guys so pretty cool feeling,” he said.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Toews “had an oustanding year.”

“You can mention him in Hart [Trophy] you can mention him in Selke as well. … Very deserving. We think he did a great job in that area.”

Datsyuk, a three-time winner, tied with Toews for the league lead in takeaways with 56, topped the Red Wings in plus-minus at plus-21 and won 55 percent of faceoffs.

“You see some of the stuff he does and you just can’t believe it,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall told The Detroit News.

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That’s the main reason the Rangers are heading to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Led by Lundqvist’s 35 saves in a second consecutive shutout, and goals from some unlikely sources, the Rangers beat the Capitals 5-0 in an anticlimactic Game 7 Monday night, eliminating Washington for the second year in a row.

By winning a Game 7 on the road for the first time in its history, New York completed its comeback after trailing in the series 2-0 and 3-2 — the latest in Washington’s long history of playoff collapses.

“He was really good, but the team was also good, too. I have to give the team some credit. They played hard in front of him,” Rangers coach John Tortorella said, before making sure everyone knew this: “Henrik is our backbone.”

The last NHL goalie with shutouts in Games 6 and 7 of a series was Detroit’s Dominik Hasek in 2002 against Colorado, according to STATS LLC.

Lundqvist, Ovechkin said, did an “unbelievable job; he makes incredible saves.”

Sixth-seeded New York faces the No. 4 Boston Bruins in the second round.

Arron Asham put New York ahead Monday in the first period, before Taylor Pyatt and Michael Del Zotto made it 3-0 early in the second on goals 2:10 apart. Ryan Callahan added a goal 13 seconds into the third period, and when Mats Zuccarello scored with about 13½ minutes remaining, thousands of red-clad fans streamed to the exits.

Soon after, when Lundqvist fell forward to smother a puck, chants of “Hen-reeek! Hen-reeek!” from the no-longer-outnumbered Rangers supporters rose in the arena.

Asked why his team couldn’t score in the final two games, Capitals forward Troy Brouwer replied: “Henrik Lundqvist. Plain and simple.”

From the moment Mike Ribeiro’s overtime goal gave Washington a Game 5 victory, Lundqvist was simply superb.

The Swede stopped all 62 shots he faced in Games 6 and 7, showing exactly why he won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie last season and is a finalist this season.

“In a game like this, obviously you’re looking for a great start. I thought we set the tone in the first. You just need a couple of good bounces and we got them tonight. A couple of big goals for us,” Lundqvist said. “When we scored the fourth one, I thought, ‘OK, we got this.’ As long as it’s three, you never know with (the Capitals). They have so much skill, they can turn it around quickly.”

But Washington’s offense, led by two-time MVP Ovechkin, managed to score 12 goals the entire series — and zero over the final six periods.

Indeed, Ovechkin was held without a point in Games 3-7. The Russian wing led the NHL with 32 goals but he heads into the offseason after the longest playoff point drought of his career. He had a goal in Game 1, an assist in Game 2, and that was it.

Ovechkin delivered some big hits early in Game 7, but he was credited with only one shot by the end of the second period, which closed with some boos from the red-clad spectators in the stands.

New York’s top scorer in the regular season, Rick Nash, didn’t have a goal against Washington, but the Rangers found other players to pick up the slack.

While Callahan did have 16 goals this season, the other four Rangers who put pucks past Braden Holtby combined for a total of only 14.

The Rangers-Capitals finale began only a little more than 24 hours after the shoving- and wrestling-filled end of Game 6, which New York won 1-0 on Derick Brassard’s second-period goal and Lundqvist’s seventh career postseason shutout. That, of course, was played at Madison Square Garden, continuing the pattern of the home team winning each of the first six games of the series.

That ended emphatically Monday, in a Game 7 similarly anticlimactic to Washington’s 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh in 2009.

Since the start of the 2008 playoffs — when Washington’s core of Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green made their postseason debuts — the Capitals have appeared in nine series, and this was the seventh to last the full seven games.

They’re now 2-5 in those, and Ovechkin and Co. have never been beyond the second round. Going further back, to 1985, the Capitals have lost nine series in which the club led either 2-0 or 3-1.

Ovechkin, in speaking with a Russian reporter, said he thinks the league wanted a Game 7 in the series, citing a dearth of penalties against the Rangers, though he stopped short of accusing the NHL of match-fixing.

“The refereeing … You understand it yourself,” Ovechkin told reporter Slava Malamud, who translated his interview from Russian to English. “How can there be no penalties at all (on one team) during the playoffs?

“I am not saying there was a phone call from (the league), but someone just wanted Game 7. For the ratings. You know, the lockout, escrow, the league needs to make profit. … I don’t know whether the refs were predisposed against us or the league. But to not give obvious penalties (in the Capitals’ favor), while for us any little thing was immediately penalized…”

Still, there was not much Washington could do with the way Lundqvist performed, helping New York reverse a little bit of playoff misery of its own: Until Monday, the Rangers were 0-5 in Game 7s on the road.

On one spirited shift not quite midway through the opening period, Ovechkin delivered hard hits to John Moore, Steve Eminger and Ryan McDonagh, slamming the latter into the boards to draw loud cheers of “Ovi! Ovi!”

Moments later, 19-year-old Tom Wilson had a close, open look thanks to a steal behind the net by Matt Hendricks, but Lundqvist made the reflex save.

The Capitals had more and better early chances, generally keeping the puck at their offensive end, but it was the Rangers who went ahead 1-0 at the 13:19 mark of the first period — thanks to a quick rush when Washington didn’t get back on defense fast enough.

Green, who led NHL defensemen with 12 goals this season and scored the OT winner in Game 2, skated in for a 1-on-1 chance that Lundqvist kicked away. Tumbling to the ice, Green managed to swat the puck back toward the crease.

Again, Wilson was in the right spot. This time, though, the puck bounced over his stick, and the Rangers raced the other way for a 4-on-2. Chris Kreider, scratched for Games 2-5, sent the puck to Asham, whose shot from the top of the right circle zipped into a tough-to-find spot above Holtby’s shoulder and the crossbar.

It was fourth-line winger Asham’s second goal of the series, matching his output for the entire regular season — and doubling Ovechkin’s postseason total against New York.

Soon after, Ovechkin’s nice pass along the boards freed Jay Beagle for an attempt that Lundqvist batted away. Marcus Johansson was in position for a rebound but couldn’t get it in the net, either.

When Del Zotto’s wrister from the top of the left circle appeared to glance off Brouwer’s skate before sliding through Holtby’s legs, there were still nearly 35 minutes of regulation left, and yet the game felt finished.

The crowd, so boisterous earlier, went silent for stretches as Washington’s fans contemplated another early playoff exit.

Game notes

The Rangers will open on the road against the Bruins, who beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 in overtime in Game 7 Monday. … Ovechkin’s longest span without a point this regular season was three games, something he went through twice: Feb. 14-21 and March 9-12. The Rangers were the opponent in the middle game of both of those droughts.

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Trailing by three goals in the third period and still by two with less than 90 seconds left in their season, the Bruins scored twice in a span of 31 seconds to tie it and then eliminated the Maple Leafs on Patrice Bergeron’s goal at 6:05 of overtime to win 5-4 in Game 7 on Monday night.

“It was one of the crazy ones I’ve been part of,” said Bergeron, who assisted on Milan Lucic’s goal with 1:22 in regulation and scored to tie it with 51 seconds left in the third. “We found a way, not necessarily the way we would have liked to play the whole game.”

Tuukka Rask stopped 24 shots for Boston, which led the best-of-seven series 3-1 before the Maple Leafs won two in a row to force a seventh game.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Bruins are the first team in NHL history to win a Game 7 after trailing by three goals in the third period.

The Bruins will play the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Bruins will host Games 1 and 2 on Thursday and Sunday before traveling to New York for Games 3 and 4 on May 21 and 23.

Toronto opened a 4-1 lead in the third period of the decisive game, but Nathan Horton cut the deficit to two midway through the third period and then Lucic and Bergeron scored in the final 1:22 with Rask on the bench for an extra skater.

“Anything can happen,” Lucic said, “and that’s exactly what happened.”

Cody Franson scored twice, and former Bruin Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist for Toronto. James Reimer made 30 saves for the Maple Leafs.

But it was the one he missed that left him sprawled in the crease, face down, while the Bruins celebrated.

“I was trying to be pretty even-keeled,” said Reimer, who was teary-eyed in the locker room after the game. “There was time left, they could come back and they did. When you’re up 4-1 you’d like to be able to hold onto that lead.”

Toronto hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2004, but some of the players had: forward James van Riemsdyk was on the Philadelphia team that rallied from a 3-0 deficit to eliminate the Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals.

This time the comeback fell short.

“It’s tough to stay composed,” Franson said. “Any type of playoff experience will help us [next season]. But unfortunately we’ve got to live through this the whole summer. Anytime you get knocked out of the playoffs, it hurts.”

The win completed a whipsaw of a weekend for Boston, which won Games 3 and 4 in Toronto last week to put the Maple Leafs on the brink of elimination, but failed to clinch at home on Friday and again in Game 6 when the series returned to the Air Canada Centre.

The Bruins found out during the game that their plane had mechanical difficulties, so they returned to their Toronto hotel and flew back to Boston on Monday morning, just hours before the game.

“They had us on the ropes and we’re glad we’re done with them,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “Drained is obviously the key word. The emotions of this game had us going in all directions.”

The Bruins appeared tired in the early part of the game, spotting Toronto a 4-1 lead on Nazem Kadri’s goal at 5:29 of the third period.

But Bergeron flicked one in with 51 seconds left, then ended it when he picked up a rebound to Reimer’s left and put it over the sprawling goaltender to send his teammates pouring over the boards and the crowd into a frenzy.

Or, at least, those who stayed: Hundreds if not more had left in the third period, then begged security to get back into the TD Garden after the Bruins rallied.

Bergeron, who had only one goal in the first six games, had two goals and his first assist of the playoffs. Lucic had a goal — his second — and an assist, and Tyler Seguin had an assist for his first point of the postseason.

The Bruins took a 1-0 lead 5:39 into the game when Franson, against the boards in his own zone, flicked the puck back between his legs right to Matt Bartkowski.

But the Maple Leafs defenseman made up for it when he tied the score four minutes later, backhanding a loose puck into the net off a rebound.

Franson gave Toronto the lead at 5:48 of the second when, then Kessel made it 3-1 two minutes into the third when he tapped in a rebound in the crease.

The announcement of Kessel’s name brought a chorus of boos from the Boston fans, who feel he never reached his potential after the Bruins picked him fifth overall in the 2006 draft.

But mostly the fans booed their own team before turning around late with chants of “Let’s Go Bruins!” and “U.S.A.!”

Game notes

The only time Toronto won a series it trailed 3-1 was in the 1942 Stanley Cup finals against the Detroit Red Wings. The Maple Leafs actually lost the first three games then. … Boston’s top regular-season goal scorers, Brad Marchand (18 goals), and Seguin (16), had no goals and just two assists before they both assisted on Bergeron’s game-winner. … Rookie Boston defenseman Matt Bartkowski appeared in his second playoff game, replacing Wade Redden. Another Bruins defenseman, Andrew Ference, missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. Ference also missed Game 2 on a one-game suspension for hitting Mikhail Grabovski in the head in Game 1. … Dennis Seidenberg, the Bruins’ No. 2 defenseman, played only 37 seconds before limping off following a leg-on-leg collision with Matt Frattin.

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And with the way goalie Tuukka Rask has played lately, the Bruins want to start the postseason as soon as possible.

Rask stopped 30 shots for Boston in a 2-0 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday night, shutting down the NHL’s top two scorers and keeping Boston in control of the tight race for the Northeast Division title.

It was the second shutout in as many starts for Rask, who seems comfortable and confident just when Boston needs it most.

“At the end of the day, a goaltender plays a big role in your success. In a game like tonight, if we don’t have good goaltending and we get a breakdown the puck will be in the back of your net,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “You need a guy to stand tall and be good, and you need a guy that goes into the playoffs with confidence and hopefully that’s what Tuukka’s creating here.”

It hasn’t even been a week since Julien was openly critical of Rask after the Bruins 3-2′ loss to the Penguins in Boston on Saturday. The Penguins scored a pair of power-play goals over four minutes in the third period to break open what had been a 1-1 tie.

Rask was just as critical, saying he had cost the Bruins the game. He was back in the net Sunday and made 28 saves in a 3-0 win over Florida, although few of the Panthers’ shots appeared to be much of a challenge.

The Lightning were a much greater threat as Martin St. Louis entered the game leading the NHL with 58 points and teammate Steven Stamkos in a tie for second with 56.

Both had great scoring chances that Rask grabbed out of the air with his glove.

“You just kind of throw yourself out there,” Rask said. “For me, I get a better feeling when I’m just square and the puck hits me and I don’t give up rebounds. It’s pretty easy to get carried away when you make highlight saves, so you just try to stay calm after you make a save like that.”

Rask remained calm throughout and was the main reason Boston won the game despite being outshot by the Lightning 30-24.

“You think he doesn’t have it and his glove’s right there,” said Daniel Paille, whose goal late in the second period gave Boston a 2-0 lead that held through the third. “He read a lot of plays tonight and he talked all night. That was good to see.”

The Bruins and Canadiens are tied with 61 points, but Boston has two games remaining while Montreal has only one. The Canadiens finish their season at Toronto on Saturday. Boston plays at Washington on Saturday and finishes at home against Ottawa in the regular-season finale on Sunday.

Dennis Seidenberg also scored for the Bruins, breaking a scoreless tie early in the second period for his third goal of the season. Paille added a goal toward the end of the period and that was more than enough for Rask.

St. Louis had a chance to pull Tampa Bay within 2-1 with 4:33 left in the third with a sharp wrist shot that Rask stretched to grab with his glove. Rask caught a break a couple of minutes later when Tom Pyatt nearly beat him with a shot that clanged off the post and bounced back in front through Rask’s pads.

The puck could easily have rebounded right back into the net and given the Lightning a chance to tie in the closing minutes, but Rask’s luck held and he picked up his fifth shutout of the season.

“When a goalie starts getting confidence, good things can happen — especially in this league. I feel for our guys,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “I think, truthfully, we may have made less mistakes than the Bruins but we couldn’t bury our chances.”

Anders Lindback had 22 saves for the Lightning.

The Bruins were sluggish early and were outshot 9-4 in the first period, but Rask kept the Lightning out of the net, then Seidenberg scored 4:22 into the second period. Brad Marchand carried the puck up the ice, skated across the Lightning zone and fed Seidenberg for a slap shot from the point that Lindback couldn’t see through the traffic.

Paille put Boston up 2-0 on a one-timer off a circle-to-circle pass from Gregory Campbell that left Lindback helplessly lunging to get from one post to the other as Paille scored his 10th goal of the season.

Long since eliminated from playoff contention, the Lightning appeared determined not to leave Boston without getting in a few shots before the end of the season. Former Bruins forward Benoit Pouliot took on Boston defenseman Andrew Ference in an extended bout with six minutes remaining in the first period.

Next up were Boston’s Milan Lucic and Keith Aulie, who matched punches until Lucic landed three straight shots that sent Aulie slumping to the ice late in the second.

Game notes

The game was originally scheduled for Feb. 9, but postponed because of the blizzard that shut down the Northeast and left more than 2 feet of snow in some areas. … Tampa Bay’s only penalties in the first two periods were the fighting majors to Pouliot and Aulie. … The Bruins swept the three games against the Lightning in the lockout-shortened season.

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Make it one blown opportunity for the Bruins to stand alone atop the Northeast Division.

Matt Read and Oliver Lauridsen scored 7 seconds apart to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.

The Bruins are second in the Eastern Conference and lead the division. But the Bruins and Montreal both have 59 points. New Jersey beat Montreal 3-2 on Tuesday night. With three games left for Boston, and two for Montreal, the race for second will come down to the final week.

The Bruins are slumping down the stretch, with one win in their past six games.

“That was definitely a step back in our game,” coach Claude Julien said. “Just really poor puck management tonight and poor decision making. To me, that’s a reflection of guys not being ready to play. At some point, they’ve got to take the accountability of being ready.”

Wade Redden and David Krejci had goals for the Bruins.

Scott Hartnell, Jakub Voracek and Simon Gagne also scored and Steve Mason had 39 saves for the Flyers.

The Flyers paid tribute to Boston in the Bruins’ first road game since the Boston Marathon bombings. The Flyers showed a message on the video board that read, “From One Tough Town to Another.” They also had video images of four blue-yellow ribbons that said, “Boston Strong,” on each faceoff circle.

There was a pregame video set to “Carry On” by Fun that included clips of marathon first responders and other rescue personnel.

Flyers fans stood and cheered, and players from both teams banged their sticks against the boards when the pregame tribute ended.

Then Philadelphia pitched in with its wallets. The 50/50 raffle that usually supports Philadelphia charities went to onefundboston.org. The Flyers raised $85,595. Also, the Flyers were set to put their jerseys up for auction at meigray.com, with proceeds also benefiting onefundboston.org.

“I thought that was a very good presentation, and it’s unbelievable how the United States comes together with tragedies like this,” Read said. “It just shows how strong the United States is, and how closely grouped the Boston area is.”

With fans still on their feet from a stirring rendition of “God Bless America,” Hartnell kept them there with a goal only 1:40 into the game. Hartnell, who missed a month with a broken foot, scored his eighth goal of the season.

Hartnell’s injury was just one of dozens suffered by the Flyers and a big reason why the team missed the playoffs. The Flyers had 11 players scratched for the game, with defenseman Kimmo Timonen joining the list Tuesday. Timonen has a compression fracture in his right foot.

General manager Paul Holmgren said before the game the Flyers could not use injuries as an excuse for underachieving.

“Good teams fight through stuff like this,” Holmgren said. “We just didn’t find a way to fight through it. Is it a factor? Probably. But at the same time, you need to fight through these things. We didn’t.”

Redden tied it late in the first period when he flipped the puck over Steve Mason’s left shoulder. He knocked in Jaromir Jagr’s rebound for his third goal of the season. Jagr played his first game in Philadelphia since he left the team as a free agent over the summer.

Jagr said he had the most fun of his career with the Flyers and wished a deal could have worked out. Holmgren said Jagr rejected a deal in February 2012. By the time free agency started, the Flyers had moved on to other free agents, including an ill-fated pursuit of Nashville defenseman Shea Weber.

The Flyers broke through for good in the second when Read and Lauridsen chased goalie Anton Khudobin.

Read struck first with his 11th goal when he batted in a rebound off Khudobin’s kick save with his left skate. Lauridsen didn’t do much to earn his first NHL goal. Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara tried to clear the puck deep in the zone but somehow the puck slipped past Khudobin and into the net.

Khudobin slammed his stick against the post in anger and was yanked for Tuukka Rask.

Lauridsen sure wasn’t complaining about the goal.

“Why would I be (upset)? I just scored a goal,” he said. “In 20 years, or a week from now, no one is going to ask me how that went in.”

There was little else for the Bruins to celebrate.

“It wasn’t a good effort,” Redden said. “Look at pretty much all their goals against us. There’s plays we need to make better and play harder in certain areas.”

Voracek scored his team-best 21st goal early in the third for a 4-1 lead.

Krejci beat Mason to make it 4-2 and Boston seemingly still had time to rally. But as the goal was still being announced to the fans, Gagne took a perfect cross-ice pass from Claude Giroux and scored for his fifth goal.

“It’s not fun where we are at in the standings,” Gagne said. “There are a lot of high expectations this year, but I think everything you’re doing right, it’s to help management to show what kind of team we have next year with those young players.”

Game notes

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette told Boston, “We stand with you,” in a videotaped message. … The ECHL’s Trenton Titans have ceased operations and the team will not compete in the 2013-2014 season. The Titans were a Flyers’ affiliate.

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