BIG AL's NHL SLAPSHOT CLUB: 24-9 ELITE INFO WINNER

At 4:05 pm, our selection is on the Boston Bruins over the Tampa Bay Lightning.  While eight teams in each conference battle for a chance to advance in the playoffs as seeds 5 through 12, the top four teams in the East and West are playing a round robin tournament against each other to determine the final playoff seeding (with regular season overtime and shootout rules).  The Bruins won the Presidents Trophy and are considered the top team although that really doesn't matter in this format.  They were rusty in their first game, falling to the Flyers, 4-1 on Sunday.  Another zero-point effort tonight would almost make their third and final game meaningless, so the Bruins need to come out firing.  The Lightning beat the Caps in their first game but needed a shutout to do it as Washington out-played Tampa in the final two periods.  The Bolts were without their best player, C Steven Stamkos (lower body).  The oft-injured leader won't play tonight either.  Boston is 24-9 (+12 games on the money line) after scoring one goal or less in its previous game.  Take the Bruins.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.