Boucher tries not to change chemistry

As the Lightning went on a bit of a run in recent weeks, the team also started to get healthier, with a handful of players coming back from injury.

So as RW Adam Hall and D Marc-Andre Bergeron were cleared to return earlier in the week against Los Angeles, coach Guy Boucher inserted both into the lineup. Tampa Bay went on to lose 3-1 to the Kings, Tampa Bay's first regulation loss since Jan. 15.

As Boucher contemplated the lineup for the Lightning's next game on Thursday against the Rangers in New York, he felt he had made a bit of a mistake inserting Hall and Bergeron back into the lineup, and it had nothing to do with the contributions that either player is capable of making.

"For some reasons, you get good chemistry and you have to ride it," Boucher said. "There are circumstances that sometimes you don't understand because they are intangible things and you have to ride them. I made the mistake in one game of not riding them, and that mistake was against L.A. And I don't want to make that mistake (Saturday) and I didn't want to make that mistake against the Rangers and we got a big point.

"Right now it's a lineup that fought together and created some stuff and had some chemistry, and I don't want to touch it right now."

The lineup remained the same against Buffalo, with Hall and Bergeron sitting out as healthy scratches, though both did participate in pregame warm-ups.

Malone nearly ready

LW Ryan Malone, out with an upper-body injury since Jan. 21, has been cleared to return to the lineup and said following the morning skate that he was "50/50" to return on Saturday.

Malone has been taking contact for the past few days, the final hurdle he had to clear in order to get clearance to resume playing. Contact in practice, however, is not quite like contact that occurs during a game, and there is only one way to test that — to actually play in a game.

With that in mind, Boucher wanted to be cautious about getting Malone into the lineup, not wanting to lose him for a longer period if he returns and aggravates the injury.

And with Tampa Bay playing today in Pittsburgh, Malone was held out for at least one more game.

"The last time he came back he was fine, too, and he got injured pretty much the same way," Boucher said. "I tend to be a little more cautious this time. We lost him for so long, missed him for half the season, so if we have to wait two or three or four more days to be 100 percent sure, we just might do that."

Nuts and Bolts

D Brendan Mikkelson appeared in his 100th career game. … D Matt Gilroy suffered an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return. … C Steven Stamkos increased his point streak to six games. … RW Steve Downie scored his 50th career goal. … Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff continues to watch games from the press box instead of behind the bench after suffering broken ribs following a collision with Jordan Leopold earlier in the week.