TAMPA — Lee Stempniak chose an excellent time for his first goal as a Bruin. With 60 seconds remaining in overtime Monday night, Stempniak whipped a shot on net that beat Panthers goalie Al Montoya.

It was his sixth point in four games as a member of the Bruins.

In those four games, Patrice Bergeron has five goals and one assist. Brad Marchand has one goal and four assists. Since Stempniak arrived a line that was already producing career seasons has been lifted even more. “I’m fortunate to play with two great players,’’ said Stempniak. “They’re playing well, they’ve been having great years. So for me, it’s trying to complement them and not mess it up at this point.’’

“The experience is there,’’ coach Claude Julien said. “He’s a good skater. He’s a smart player. He’s a reliable player. So for me, it really makes me that much more comfortable than what I was before to play [them] against top lines. He’s got a little bit more experience than [Brett Connolly] does in this league and it shows. At the same time, it’s his poise.’’

But even if the Bruins had anticipated all of those qualities when they acquired him in a trade deadline deal with the Devils, it may have been unrealistic to expect it all to happen this quickly.

Stempniak, who is on his ninth team in 11 seasons, had to go back to the 2009-10 season to come up with a team swap that yielded so many points so soon after he pulled on a new sweater. That was when he went from Toronto to Phoenix, also producing six points in his first four games. And he didn’t stop there, adding five more over his next four games.

“The opportunity to play with Brad and Patrice is once in a lifetime,’’ Stempniak said. “Not a lot of guys get to do that. For me, they’re two great players. They have a good thing going. And just trying to fit in and complement them and find that balance between playing my game and playing to my strengths, at the same time trying to help those guys do what they do.

“Fortunately those things tend to overlap quite a bit. We’ve been in the offensive zone, skating, supporting each other with the pucks and getting shots. They’re two really easy guys to play with.’’

And they have welcomed him.

“I’m not surprised,’’ Bergeron said. “He’s a great player. He’s been a great player for many years. It’s been great having him with us on the line and we’re just trying to create some more chemistry and find ways to get better.’’

Stempniak has brought not just the ability to score goals — he notched 16 with the Devils before the trade — but he also fits in with Marchand and Bergeron as a two-way forward, a guy who is responsible defensively. That might just be part of why, in the first couple of games with Stempniak and John-Michael Liles on the roster, the Bruins defense seemed to get back to doing what it does best.

But it’s the production that is most notable, production that directly helped the Bruins take two points — rather than just one — on Monday.

“You always try and hit the ground running,’’ Stempniak said, acknowledging he was a little surprised at his early success. “I think part of that is they have a tremendous amount of chemistry between themselves. They make plays, they handle the puck, they’re tough to play against, and they’re always around the puck. They’re tenacious.

“So those things tend to allow you to have the puck a little bit more, give more chances to the offense and spend more time in the offensive zone.’’

Liles hit questionable

There was a questionable hit from Liles in the Bruins’ 1-0 victory Tuesday night, in which he appeared to extend his forearm and elbow into the face of Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov went down after the incident, but finished the game. He was not penalized on the play.

“I didn’t think I came up high with it,’’ Liles said. “I thought I just tried to step into him. I don’t know if he was falling or if he ducked. Obviously he was down for a while. I didn’t see a replay on it, so not really sure. Not trying to hit him up high. Most guys I can’t even reach their heads.

“Just trying to do my job at the blue line to step up and just get a piece of him. I didn’t think my elbow came up high at all.’’

Moving pieces

When David Pastrnak was dropped to the fourth line in Monday’s game, Julien felt comfortable doing so because of the presence of another player: Connolly. The right wing had been replaced by Stempniak on Bergeron’s line after the trade deadline, but he remains a mostly reliable player and an option to play higher in the lineup. “We bring in a guy, couple of guys, to make the team better,’’ Connolly said. “There’s a few lines that are playing well. You’ve just got to do with what you’re given and I thought me, [Landon Ferraro and Noel Acciari] were very good for the games we were together and the minutes that we played, we produced, put up a couple goals. It was nice for Claude to put me up with Krech, for whatever reason it was.’’ . . . When asked if it was fun to watch the chemistry between Marchand and Bergeron, Liles quipped, “Fun to not be the defender that’s having to play against them. It’s nice to just give them the puck and watch them go.’’ . . . Jonas Gustavsson had a comedy of errors regarding his water bottle to start the game. The first one malfunctioned and was returned to the bench. The second one arrived and spilled all over the ice. The third, personally delivered by Marchand, was the charm . . . Joe Morrow was in the lineup on Tuesday and registered 13:40 of ice time.Zach Trotman and Tyler Randell were scratches.