Maroon: There's 'bad blood brewing' between Lightning, Bruins

After two meetings in less than a week, it's safe to say the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins are a little sick of each other.

"There's some bad blood brewing," Lightning forward Pat Maroon told The Athletic's Joe Smith following his team's 5-3 victory on Saturday night.

But the final score was largely an afterthought following a frantic end to the second period that began when the play was blown dead to review a potential Bruins goal, and a line brawl ensued.

The madness began after Sean Kuraly's rebound attempt slid through Andrei Vasilevskiy's legs and barely over the goal line. The net-side referee signaled the puck didn't go in, and after the Lightning moved the puck to the other end of the ice, a siren blared indicating the Bruins actually scored (the goal was later confirmed).

That's when all hell broke loose.

Lightning forward Pat Maroon confronted and ultimately fought Zdeno Chara, who was talking to officials about Mikhail Sergachev's prior hit from behind.

Maroon's altercation was the catalyst for the chaos, and the veteran winger thinks a rivalry began between the two squads Saturday night.

"We're starting to stir the pot, which is fun going into meaningful games down the stretch. Boston is the team, what they accomplished last year and what they accomplished this year. That's the team to beat," Maroon added.

Maroon familiarized himself with Boston last spring as a member of the St. Louis Blues, who beat the Bruins in seven games during the Stanley Cup Final.

The Bruins lead the Atlantic Division by seven points and are on track to win the Presidents' Trophy. The Lightning and Bruins don't square off again this season, but as the top two clubs in the Atlantic, there's a good chance they renew hostilities in the playoffs.