Things did not get off to the start the Bruins envisioned for themselves in a Monday matinee head-to-head with the Lightning at TD Garden.

Unable to handle the puck with any sort of poise, the Bruins found themselves in a two-goal hole after the first period, and saw that deficit balloon out to three just 39 seconds into the middle frame. And though the Bruins battled back, turning what was a 3-0 deficit and then a 4-1 deficit into a one-goal game, the ugly start proved costly in a 4-3 loss to the Lightning.

The defeat was head coach Marco Sturm’s first behind the Boston bench.

“They came ready to play. We know their starting six, they just want to get to work, [and] we just weren’t ready,” Sturm said following the loss. “That’s why they ended [scoring] four times on pretty much an empty net.”

Down by three, the Bruins began their push back behind Casey Mittelstadt’s second goal of the season, scored just 30 seconds after Tampa’s third goal.

And though the Bolts would quickly regain their three-goal lead, the Bruins continued to surge, with second-period tallies from Jordan Harris and Morgan Geekie to bring themselves within one by the period’s end.

Boston continued their push into the third period, and had a golden opportunity to knot things up with a gift of a third-period penalty on the Lightning, drawn by the Bruins’ Viktor Arvidsson at the 6:05 mark. And even when that power-play opportunity failed to provide the Bruins with much of anything, the Bruins remained in the game, and had chances during a 6-on-5, a 5-on-4, and even a 5-on-3 opportunity with just eight seconds to go.

But the Bruins found themselves unable to find the game-tying goal on the Bolts’ Jonas Johansson, who finished with 30 saves in the win.

Boston’s Joonas Korpisalo, meanwhile, took the loss behind a a 19-for-23 outing in the crease, though he wasn’t given much help in front of him.

On the backend, Hampus Lindholm missed his second straight game due to a lower-body injury. But good news on Lindholm came on Sunday morning, as Lindholm did skate on the ice at Warrior Ice Arena prior to practice.

With this three-game homestand behind them, the Bruins will head to Vegas for the start of a three-in-four that’ll feature games against the Golden Knights, Avalanche, and Mammoth beginning Thursday night.