(Photo Credit: Chad Jones Black N’ Gold Productions)

By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones

On Tuesday night at TD Garden, the Boston Bruins lost to the Nashville Predators 6-3, falling to 28-27-8 on the season. Nashville had been outscored 11-4 in their previous two road games, but they came to play in Boston and showed resilience throughout the 60-minute contest.

First Period

Boston was the first to find the back of the net. Just under five minutes into the game, Elias Lindholm went hard on the forecheck and jarred the puck in front of Juuse Saros. Charlie Coyle hopped on the loose change and buried the close-range chance for his 15th goal of the year.

But Nashville quickly responded. Just over a minute later, Pavel Zacha coughed up the puck in the defensive zone. Tommy Novak pounced on the turnover and beat Jeremy Swayman for his 13th score of the season. Just past the halfway point of the opening period, Ryan O’Reilly rifled home his 15th goal of the campaign after a well-executed three-on-two. Nashville led 2-1 after the opening 20 and outshot Boston 14-5.

Second Period

Five minutes into the middle frame, Boston got the equalizer as Jordan Oesterle’s deflected wrist shot found the back of the net. Oesterle picked up his first goal of the season, and David Pastrnak collected his 44th assist.

But just past a minute later, Nashville again retook the lead. Steven Stamkos blasted home his 18th goal of the year from the left face-off circle following a slick feed from O’Reilly. The Bruins have often seen the future Hall of Famer score from there. After 40 minutes, the Bruins trailed 3-2 and were outshot 23-13.

Third Period

Just past the five-minute mark of the third period, a tremendous offensive shift by Boston’s top line had Nashville scrambling in their own zone. Morgan Geekie found himself alone in front of the net and ripped home the game-tying goal. But once again, the Predators showed their grit.

Nearly halfway through the final frame, Jonathan Marchessault buried a chance right in front of the net following a pretty passing sequence. Then the floodgates opened. O’Reilly capped his impressive performance by driving hard to the net and beating Swayman to give Nashville an insurance score. Then, with just over two minutes left in regulation, Marc Jankowski put the game on ice with an empty net score, securing a 6-3 road victory for the Predators.

Brad Marchand’s absence was notable. The Bruins captain is week to week with an upper-body injury he sustained during Boston’s loss to the Minnesota Wild this past Sunday.

“Obviously, we’re missing Marchy,” Oesterle told the media postgame. “But that’s no excuse for the way we started. They came out and were way more desperate than us. And we have a lot more to play for. We’re fighting for our lives. It’s unacceptable.”

The Predators came into Tuesday’s bout with a 21-32-7 record. But despite their place in the standings, they fought back every time Boston surged. At this point in the season, the Bruins cannot afford to lose home games to teams out of the playoff standings. Despite key guys missing from their lineup, Boston needs to up its intensity and focus during this stretch run.