WILMINGTON, Mass. -- The Boston Bruins played a mean game Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

When the Bruins were pushed, they pushed back. When they were punched, they punched back. Boston played the style of game that its known for, and it resulted in a 4-3 win over the Lightning. The Bruins also extended their winning streak to four games, and as of Wednesday the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference are separated by only seven points.

The New York Islanders sit in the top spot with 59 points, while the Bruins are eighth with 52.

Zdeno Chara acknowledged that his team's play has improved, but added, "you can't get complacent just because we've won four in a row." Steve Babineau/NHLI/Getty Images

The Bruins have climbed back into playoff contention and are showing signs of the team that has been a perennial Stanley Cup contender. It also helps Boston that its lineup is healthy and coach Claude Julien is able to have consistency with his line combinations and defensive pairings.

“When you have a different lineup every night and different players playing in different places -- it wasn’t easy,” Julien said. “You look back and you see who wasn’t there and the impact those guys have on your hockey club. But it’s starting to come around and sometimes you need a little bit of time for that. Our players are feeling it right now, and when you feel it you’ve got more energy, when you’re feeling it there’s no doubt you’re a little bit more inclined to step in and do the things that you have to do. This is more the team we’ve seen for a long time.”

Even Bruins captain Zdeno Chara has returned to form.

He was leading the physical battle against the Lightning and proved he’s still one of the best defenders in the game.

“The last few games he’s been unbelievable defensively,” Julien said.

Chara has been back in the lineup for 16 games after being sidelined for 19 games with a knee injury. He always believed this team had the ability to fix what was wrong and turn its season around.

That has been the case the last four games, but it’s only four games and the Bruins need to do a lot more to maintain their current consistency.

“It’s certainly improved,” Chara said. “It’s much better than it was. We can’t be dissatisfied with winning four games in a row. It’s just one of those things that you can’t get complacent just because we’ve won four in a row. We know that we are still kind of on the bottom of the standing and we want to climb it.”

The Bruins will host the New York Rangers on Thursday night at TD Garden. Entering Wednesday’s action, the teams each have 52 points, but New York has 24 wins to Boston’s 23 and the Bruins have played four more games (44) than the Rangers.