With a second straight loss in the NHL’s round-robin to determine playoff seeding, the Bruins — despite being the only team to reach 100 points prior to the regular season pause in March — will not be the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
The 3-2 defeat to the Lightning, following the 4-1 defeat to the Flyers in the first round-robin game, means that the best Boston can do now is secure the third seed. Even doing that will be difficult, as it requires the Bruins beating the Capitals as well as help in another game.
Bruce Cassidy’s team faces Washington on Sunday with a chance to salvage something from the early games following a months-long layoff.