What we learned: shorthanded Bruins overcome adversity vs. Bolts

Facing the high-octane Tampa Bay Lightning without Zdeno Chara was a tall task (no pun intended) in and of itself for the Boston Bruins heading into their first matinee of the season Sunday at TD Garden. Facing the Bolts with just five defensemen after John-Michael Liles (upper body injury) left the game following a violent collision to the boards in the first period put the Black and Gold in a deeper hole.

Turns out that wasn’t the case.

Facing another case of adversity early on in the 2016-17 season, the Bruins dug deep against the Lightning, who came into Sunday’s matchup having scored the second-most goals in the National Hockey League with 69. From double shifting defensemen to their…