"This is a really good test. We've played a lot of home games this year. This is always a building that gives us a good test. We want that," said Taylor Hall. "I think at this point in our schedule, we're starting to look at teams that are very good hockey teams. The next seven games are all teams that you could conceivably see winning the Cup this year and all teams that have had really good seasons prior to this.
"We're excited for that challenge. We're looking forward to that. It's great to win 6-1 and everything but we want to test our mettle and face some adversity, because we know that's coming, and see what we're made of in those situations."
The Lightning, who won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, before falling to the Avalanche in the Final last spring, have won four straight games to get above .500 (11-6-1, 23 points) and slide into third place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of Detroit and one point back of Toronto for second.
"We know the schedule. It will be a good challenge for us. We've got to take it one game at a time like we always say…it's a good Tampa team here," said Coyle. "They've been playing pretty good as of late. We want to make sure that we bring our game and we're ready to go and see how we fare against them," said Coyle, who also acknowledged the rivalry the Bruins and Lightning have built up over the last handful of years.
"When you think of it like that, it kind of gets you more prepared and more focused. They're a solid team. They have been for a few years now. They've had a lot of success, won some championships. They're no joke over there. They're a good team.
"It's not hard to get geared up for these teams and this game. If you want to call it a rivalry you can if you want. That's only gonna help us get focused and ready to go."
