Make it two in a row for the Boston Bruins to start the 2023-24 season as they defeated the Nashville Predators before embarking on their west coast trip. This was a hard fought contest and the Predators got on the board first when the Bruins were stoned on a breakaway and Kiefer Sherwood set up Colton Sissons who scored to put Nashville on top. The Bruins killed off a 5 on 3 powerplay and James van Riemsdyk scored on their own power play to tie the game. In the second period, David Pastrnak scored on a penalty shot to give the Bruins the lead with 5:14 remaining but the Bruins were called on a delayed penalty. That gave the Predators the 6 on 5 advantage and Sissons tipped home a Josi slapshot to tie the game going into intermission, 2-2. The Bruins didn't wait long to jump back in front in the third when van Riemsdyk tipped a shot home 2:52 into the period. The Bruins defense held the rest of the way and the Bruins had won their second straight game 3-2 at TD Garden.
The Predators struck first when Predators goalie Juuse Saros stoned a Kevin Shattenkirk shot on a great pass by Jakub Lauko. The puck went right to Kiefer Sherwood who found Colton Sissons for the one time goal to put Nashville up 1-0 just 3:29 into the first. Less than a minute later Brad Marchand was called for hooking Juuso Parssinen to put the Bruins on the penalty kill. Just as the Bruins had it killed off, Charlie McAvoy got called for holding Gustav Nyquist's stick to put Nashville on a 15 second 5 on 3. This was the most important sequence of the game as the Bruins killed off the penalties and Tommy Novak was sent to the box 7:38 into the period. Nashville killed it off and Derek Forbort hooked Parssinen to put the Bruins back on the penalty kill 10:18 into the period. The Bruins killed it off and Kiefer Sherwood got called for roughing Charlie McAvoy. On the ensuing power play, Marchand found James van Riemsdyk behind the net who simply shot it off Dante Fabbro and into the net to tie the game with 5:12 left in the period. Saros robbed Matthew Poitras on a feed from Morgan Geekie. The Bruins went into the break tied 1-1.
The parade to the penalty box continued in the second period for the Bruins as Lauko took a double minor for high sticking Roman Josi just 3:19 into the period. The Bruins killed off all four minutes then Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman robbed Filip Fosberg cold 7:40 into the period. Pastrnak got the buck on a wide open breakaway but Saros saved the shot. Hampus Lindholm was called for interference on Ryan O'Reilly 10:28 into the period and Swayman kicked out a shot by Josi. The Bruins killed that off but then the Bruins went to the box AGAIN as Marchand cross-checked Nyquist 12:23 into the period. Pastrnak then went on a breakaway but was awarded a penalty shot because Alexandre Carrier held him to prevent a shot. Pastrnak buried the penalty shot to put the Bruins up 2-1 with 5:17 left in the second period. The Bruins were called for a delayed penalty and this allowed Sissons to slam home a Josi slapshot to tie the game with 3:06 remaining in the period. Nothing happened after that and the game was tied 2-2 going into the third.
This time it was the Predators that took the first penalty of the third period as old friend Jeremy Lauzon roughed Matthew Poitras 2:10 into it. 42 seconds later van Riemsdyk tipped a McAvoy slapshot to put the Bruins up 3-2. The Bruins defense then stifled the Predators as they started to get frustrated. Yakov Trenin interfered with Brad Marchand but the Bruins failed to score on the powerplay. With 5:41 left in the game, Sissons got called for interfering with Zacha. The Bruins once again failed to score but both instances kept Nashville from attacking even strength. Swayman and the defense survived and empty net flurry at the end of the game to take home the victory. The Bruins had won the game 3-2.
Goalie hug
Milestones:
Trent Frederic played in his 200th career game.
James van Riemsdyk earned the Smokey Harris Award for first career Bruins goal
Reaction:
That was another big win by the Bruins and an impressive display of defense in the third period. That's back to back goose eggs in the third period for the Bruins who I mentioned on Opening Night still has a nasty defense that carried over from last year. James van Riemsdyk has stepped nicely into the team's chemistry and Pastrnak once again showed he's a future hall of famer the way his career is going. The best part are the youngsters Beecher and Poitras are only going to get better with more experience. The fact the Bruins stayed out of the box in the third period as well as damn near went flawless on the penalty kill was instrumental in the victory. The Chicago Blackhawks and the Predators aren't exactly Stanley Cup contenders but victories are victories no matter who they're against. The mood is about to shift as the Bruins now embark on their early season west coast trip to California. The Bruins don't play again until Thursday when they go to San Jose to play the Sharks. The game begins at 10:30 PM Eastern time at SAP Arena.
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