Lightning score 6, pull away from Bruins to end 3-game skid

BOSTON -- Anthony Cirelli scored twice, and the Tampa Bay Lightning snapped a three-game skid with a 6-2 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday.

Nick Paul, Victor Hedman and Darren Raddysh each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning (38-23-5), who had lost four of six. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 10 saves.

“Tonight, we played desperate. We played a smart desperate,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “We got the lead, and even though they tied it, we had the mentality to come out and lean on them in the second. We did and I’m proud of the guys tonight. We needed this one and they pulled through.”

Nikita Kucherov returned from illness for the Lightning and had an assist in 19:25 of ice time after the forward missed a 4-3 shootout loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

“We played really good tonight, especially in the second period,” said Tampa Bay forward Yanni Gourde, who had two assists. “We were relentless on the puck. We played as a unit and everybody was moving together, and it’s hard to play against the way we played that (second) period.”

Elias Lindholm had a goal and an assist, and Marat Khusnutdinov also scored for the Bruins (30-30-8), who have lost two in a row and five of seven. Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves.

Hedman gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 2:22 of the first period after scoring on a rebound. The Lightning created a scramble in front of Swayman when Brayden Point won a puck battle and fed it back to Raddysh, who took a quick shot on net. Swayman made the initial save, but Hedman skated in for the rebound.

Lindholm tied it 1-1 at 15:58. Andrew Peeke gained control in the neutral zone, broke into the offensive end towards the right boards and made a strong pass through the slot to Lindholm, who beat Vasilevskiy with a one-timer.

Tampa Bay then scored three times and held Boston without a shot on goal in the second period.

“Not sure what happened in the second,” Lindholm said. “It was embarrassing. The compete level was nowhere to be found. It was overall unacceptable and frustrating, for sure.”

Paul put the Lightning back ahead 2-1 at 2:13, scoring on a rebound before Cirelli extended it to 3-1 at 7:22 when he tipped in a shot from Ryan McDonagh.

Raddysh pushed it to 4-1 at 17:08 on a shot from the point through traffic. It was the second time this season that the Bruins did not register a shot on goal during a period.

“We played a pretty good first period, but the pace of our game elevated in the second,” Gourde said. “We played with fast pace and it’s going to be hard to play against us if we play that way.”

Khusnutdinov scored 23 seconds into the third period, cutting it to 4-2 with a wrist shot from the blue line.

“We got one quick (in the third), gave us some life, but being down 4-1 isn’t an easy task in this league no matter who you’re playing, especially against a team like that,” Peeke said.

Hagel’s empty-net goal made it 5-2 at 16:31, and Cirelli also scored into an empty net for his second goal of the game at 19:15 and the 6-2 final.

“Nothing fazed (us) tonight,” Cooper said. “We were working and doing all the right things. We managed the puck much better than we did a week ago against (Boston in a 4-0 loss). When you do that, you’re giving yourself a chance to win and not shooting yourself in the foot, so it was a good job by the boys tonight.”

NOTES: The Lightning (38-23-5, 81 points) passed the Maple Leafs (39-24-3, 81 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division. This marks the first time since Nov. 4 that the top two spots in the division are not held by the Florida Panthers and Toronto (any combination). … The second marked the third regulation period in franchise history in which Tampa Bay allowed zero shots on goal (also the third period on Feb. 15, 1994, and the first period on Dec. 2, 2000). … Paul became the sixth Lightning player to reach the 20-goal mark this season, tying a franchise record. He also recorded his 100th NHL assist. … Peeke, who had an assist, set a new career high with 16 points (one goal, 15 assists).