The Bruins are mired in the 31st spot in the NHL’s power-play rankings and their inability to score has contributed to a couple of the losses in their current 0-4-1 skid.

So coach Joe Sacco and assistant Chris Kelly have again tinkered with the units as the B’s face their closest Atlantic Division competitors, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who come into Thursday’s game one point behind the B’s with five games in hand.

The first unit had Mason Lohrei with David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha and Justin Brazeau while the second unit consisted of Charlie McAvoy, Brad Marchand, Elias Lindholm, Charlie Coyle and Oliver Wahlstrom.

The fact that the first and second 5-on-5 lines remain intact with these units is mostly coincidental.

“The thought process is that it’s not going well and we need to make some adjustments,” Sacco told reporters in Tampa. “We need to make some changes. We can’t just keep going the same way. I did it before, a few games ago. It didn’t last very long. I was probably too impatient. But we’re going to split up the groups again tonight and we’ll see how it goes.

While the lineup remains the same as it was in Tuesday’s lopsided loss to the Oilers, there will be another tweak on the back end. Nikita Zadorov will bump back up to play with Charlie McAvoy while Parker Wotherspoon will return to play with Brandon Carlo.

“Just changing it up,” said Sacco. “It didn’t go as well as we would have liked last game. Obviously their top line is very productive, 5-on-5 and on the power play but I think it gives us a better matchup for us.”

This is also the team’s annual family trip and this year the players’ mothers are along for the ride to Tampa and Sunrise, Florida.

“There’s a lot energy in the morning here right now and hopefully that helps the guys,” said Sacco. “It’s a special time whenever you can get involved in a trip like this and have your Moms around. They do so much for everybody in this sport, they sacrifice a lot for their kids. I can say that for my Mom as well. It’s nice to see the interaction between the player and the Mom and see how they act in front of them. It’s a special time and hopefully it helps them tonight.”

Morgan Geekie’s mother gets a two-fer out of the deal. The youngest Geekie brother, Conor, plays for the Lightning. With a six-year gap between the two and brother Noah in the middle, this will be the two NHL Geekies will play against each other. The 20-yearold Conor was the 11th overall pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2022.

“It’s going to be fun. It’s nice to have everybody here,” said Morgan Geekie. “Everybody’s down for this so it’ll be a fun one. We were never really close enough in age to pay against each other.”