Pontus Holmberg pursues Pavel Zacha behind the Lightning’s net. Photo courtesy of Lexi Smith.
The Tampa Bay Lightning secured their playoff spot just hours before a matchup with the Boston Bruins saw a new franchise record set by Darren Raddysh in a 3-1 win.
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By Terry Hunsicker
TAMPA, Fla. — Shown on the jumbotron of the near-empty Benchmark International Arena, the New York Rangers completed a 4-1 upset over the playoff-hungry Detroit Red Wings. As the clock wound down to zero, the Lightning’s goal horn was blown. The Tampa Bay Lightning had clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Two hours later, on April 4, 2026, the puck dropped for the Lightning’s matchup with the Boston Bruins. The Lightning won 3-1, with a new franchise record in goals by a defenseman set by Darren Raddysh.
“For me to be sitting up here right now, after game seven of this year, when I think we just won one, it seemed distant,” said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. “That’s when that, you know, the process over outcome comes in.”
The Lightning will make their ninth straight playoff appearance. As the regular season winds down, the Bolts look to win more games to help secure home-ice advantage for the playoffs. The Bolts currently stand second in the Eastern Conference and first in the Atlantic Division.
Of the final six games remaining in the Lightning’s season, four of their opponents are currently holding a playoff spot. Their fifth opponent, the Detroit Red Wings, is just outside of the playoffs on a tiebreaker with the Ottawa Senators. Cooper said that he wants the Bolts to keep their habits through the end of the regular season, not knowing who they will have to face in the playoffs among their final opponents.
“You don’t want to give anything away or any false hope or anything, so there’s a lot for us to play for still,” Cooper said.
Bolts defenseman Raddysh scored his 21st goal to give Tampa a 2-1 lead in the third period. The goal set a new franchise record for most goals by a Lightning defenseman in a single season, beating the 20-goal record set by former defenseman Dan Boyle in the 2006-07 season and matched by Bolts captain Victor Hedman during the 2021-22 season.
“As the season went on, you get a little more belief, a little more confidence, and anything can happen,” said Raddysh.
“You tip your cap to him, it’s impressive,” said Cooper. “If [Hedman] was with us, he’d been the first guy off the boards to high-five him.”
Hedman remains unable to play, added to the long-term injured reserve on April 2 after leaving the team for undisclosed personal reasons earlier in the season. He will not be eligible to return to the team until April 13, when the Lightning take on the Detroit Red Wings.
The Boston Bruins controlled the puck for much of the first and second periods. Boston held a significant advantage in faceoffs, winning 40 of 58 faceoffs during the game. The Lightning took two penalties in the first period. Raddysh received a minor penalty for hooking, and forward Pontus Holmberg was penalized for holding.
Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt scored with 13:13 left in the second period. Boston forward Viktor Arvidsson passed the puck to a racing Mittelstadt up the middle from along the boards, beating Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Rookie defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored the first Lightning goal of the night just two minutes into the third period, reigniting the home crowd. Assisted by forward Oliver Bjorkstrand off a rebound, the goal was D’Astous’ sixth goal in 64 career games.
“I knew the goalie was all the way in front of the screen,” said D’Astous. “I saw an opening and just put it in.”
Forward Nikita Kucherov scored an empty-net goal with 1:33 left in the third, securing a 3-1 Tampa Bay Lightning win over the Boston Bruins.
As fans exited the arena, video boards around the arena displayed a tweet announcing the elimination of the Florida Panthers from playoff contention. A loud cheer could be heard upon the tweet’s display from the home crowd. The Panthers lost earlier in the day to the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 9-4.
The Lightning will begin their final road trip of the season with a marquee matchup against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, April 6. The Bolts return to the Benchmark International Arena for their final two games of the regular season, a week later, to face the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, April 13, and the New York Rangers on Wednesday, April 15.