Times are getting tough for the Boston Bruins. Not only did they lose to the Florida Panthers in a shootout Saturday night, they no longer control their own destiny for a playoff spot. The Ottawa Senators were victorious over the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 now trailing the Black and Gold by just one point with a game in hand for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern conference.

Boston dropped to 3-9 in the shootout on the season and lost Dougie Hamilton in the process. The third-year defenseman exited the game after suffering an apparent shoulder injury during the second period and did not return. The B’s have recalled Zach Trotman from Providence on an emergency basis if Hamilton can’t go. Also of note, Reilly Smith was a healthy scratch for the first time in 2014-2015, while Brian Ferlin was re-inserted into the lineup.

The B’s fell behind once again on a goal by Jimmy Hayes, but Patrice Bergeron tied things up at 1-1 with his 20th goal of the season. Tuukka Rask stopped 24 of 25 shots in regulation while his counterpart Roberto Luongo stopped 26 of 27 while recording his 25th victory on the year.

Since going on their 7-0-1 run, Boston is winless in their last four games (0-2-2). The B’s will now turn their attention to the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning, who are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and winners of 28 of their last 36.

Related: Bruins playoff chances slipping away

Boston may be in luck as Tampa Bay has lost 10 in a row to the Black and Gold — going 0-8-2 in that span.

Here is your complete Bruins-Lightning Preview:

Gametime: 5:00 PM
Records: Bruins 36-24-12 (84 points)/Lightning 44-21-7 (95 points)
TV/Radio: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
Location: Amalie Arena

Bruins’ projected lines:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
Milan Lucic-Ryan Spooner-David Pastrnak
Chris Kelly-Carl Soderberg-Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Max Talbot

Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski-Dennis Seidenberg
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Niklas Svedberg

Lightning projected lines:

Alex Killorn-Steven Stamkos-Ryan Callahan
Nikita Kucherov-Tyler Johnson-Ondrej Palat
Jonathan Drouin-Valtteri Filppula-Vladislav Namestnikov
Brenden Morrow-Brian Boyle-J.T. Brown

Victor Hedman-Anton Stralman
Matt Carle-Jason Garrison
Mark Barberio-Andrej Sustr

Ben Bishop
Anton Stralman

Who to watch for Bruins: Max Talbot

After notching two points in his first three games with the Black and Gold, Talbot has struggled as of late. In his last seven games for Claude Julien, Talbot has zero points to go along with a minus-1 rating.

Talbot has averaged around 12 minutes for Boston, but hasn’t made much of an impact. It’s been much of the same for a fourth line that has struggled all season.

With Smith a healthy scratch Saturday night, it isn’t out of the question that Talbot could take a seat sooner rather than later, especially with David Krejci coming back.

Since being traded from Colorado, the 31 year-old “glue” guy has an unimpressive zero goals and two assists in Boston. Sure, he’s not a “20-goal scorer”, but the B’s need a little more out of their fourth line utility man.

Who to watch for Lightning: Ondrej Palat

Sure, it is easy to concentrate on Steven Stamkos, but Ondrej Palat can’t be forgotten. This Tampa Bay Lightning team can bring it. Palat has 15 goals and 39 assists on the year while posting a plus-30 which ranks him fourth in the NHL.

Over his last five games, the 23 year-old has notched seven points (all assists).

Palat did not play in the last meeting versus the Black and Gold due to injury. In his career against the B’s, the young left-winger has four points (one goal, three assists) in five games.

The B’s need to figure out a way to slow down this potent offense. They have in the past, clearly, but it may be tough if Hamilton is out of the lineup.

Game Day Edge: Continue success against Tampa

Forget about the shootout loss to the Panthers last night. Turn your attention to the Lightning, but also your success against them.

Boston has won its last 10 games against Tampa Bay. As well as the Lightning are playing right now (while the B’s fade), it could be a blessing in disguise as the Black and Gold match up very well against the talented Bolts.

It’s really not hard. Start fast, get pucks in deep and get a good fore-check. Those are the keys to the B’s success. That hasn’t been seen as of late.

The Black and Gold need to play desperate not because there are 10 games left in their season, but because they no longer control their own destiny and need two points in the worst way.