By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
The Boston Bruins’ issues on the road continued Thursday night in Nashville. The Predators beat the Bruins 6-3, which dropped Boston’s record to 34-22-5.
First Period
Nashville got the scoring started in this one. The Predators were doing a good job in the opening frame of gaining the zone without much resistance from the Bruins. And with just over six minutes left in the period, Nashville made Boston pay.
David Pastrnak overcommitted to Ozzy Wiesblatt near the left faceoff circle. Wiesblatt then fed the puck over to Nicolas Hague, who had all kinds of room near the left point. The defenseman’s one-timer squeezed past Joonas Korpisalo to get the Predators on the board first.
In the opening 20 minutes, Juuse Saros was dynamite in between Nashville’s pipes. His most notable and impressive save came with just a few ticks left on the clock. The Predators’ netminder flashed his leather to rob Elias Lindholm of a sure goal. Pastrnak had drawn a penalty prior, so the Bruins started the middle frame on a four-on-three power play.
Second Period
Despite the power play opportunity for Boston, Nashville would get the next score in the contest. As the Bruins’ four-on-three was winding down, a Pastrnak cross-ice pass was picked off by Nick Perbix. The defenseman rushed up the ice and fed Matthew Wood, who buried a shorthanded goal fresh out of the penalty box.
But the Bruins were soon back on the power play. Elias Lindholm won the draw cleanly back to Charlie McAvoy. The defenseman then fed a pass over to Morgan Geekie, who had his stick raised, ready to hammer the puck. Geekie ripped an absolute laser past Saros to get Boston on the board. The power play tally was Geekie’s 34th goal of the year, setting a new career high.
Just past the halfway point of the game, a Brady Skjei point shot deflected off of Eric Haula and in. The former Bruin successfully caused chaos in front of the net. Whereas soon after the Nashville score, Tanner Jeannot was overzealous on a net drive. His body contact with Saros not only wiped a goal off the board for Boston, but it sent the Bruins to the penalty kill.
And on the ensuing power play, Filip Forsberg showed off his elite goal-scoring ability and quick release by drilling home a score on the man advantage. The tally ballooned Nashville’s lead to 4-1.
Later in the period, a Roman Josi bomb tipped in by Wood made it 5-1. Boston challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal was confirmed after replay. The Predators scored three times in less than five minutes in an absolutely disastrous middle session for the Bruins.
Third Period
Just past six minutes into the final frame, Boson cut into Nashville’s lead. Charlie McAvoy snuck a wrist shot just inside the far post to beat Saros and get the score to 5-2. Then, with under five minutes left, Viktor Arvidsson hammered home a tally from the slot to get Boston within two goals. But the deficit proved too much to overcome for the Bruins, as the Predators won the contest 6-3 after Luke Evangelista potted an empty netter.
While the Bruins pushed in the third period, they were not good enough to grab two points. The Bruins will need to play better on the road during the final few weeks of this season. Boston has not been able to consistently find their game away from TD Garden this year.
The Bruins will be busy this weekend, taking on the Washington Capitals in Boston Saturday and the Penguins in Pittsburgh Sunday. If you want to see the Black and Gold in person at TD Garden or on the road before the season ends, consider using this official StubHub Ticket-affiliated link here for the most competitive concert and sporting event tickets in the North American region.
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