In Boston, the Bruins downed the visiting Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon, 4-3, when Taylor Hall scored with 1:41 gone in extra time.
Boston improved to 22-11-2.
“Ultimately, that’s the team you want to beat,” Hall said. “You want to be able to play different styles of games. Not every game’s going to be the same. If we can be physical at the right times, especially on our home ice, that’s going to be something that’s a real strength of ours as the season goes on. When the playoffs start, you need to be able to have that game in your bag, so that was a fun game to play.”
Linus Ullmark made 26 saves in the Bruins win.
The Nashville strikers were Roman Josi, Colton Sissons, and Luke Kunin.
“I really liked our game tonight,” Nashville head coach John Hynes said. “I thought we were engaged, and we talked a lot about being a hard team to play against, physically and mentally. We felt like we were right there in the game. It was a very intense game, very physical. Not a lot of free ice out there. Both teams battled hard. I was proud of our guys’ effort tonight.”
Boston took a 3-2 lead in the third period off a strike from Brad Marchand, but Josi knotted the game at 3-3 and forced the extra session.
“They had a good push in the second, we knew they would,” Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “… We found our game, we got back to it, we were starting even (in the third period), and I thought we were the better team in the third and eventually got the win.”
Craig Smith and Mike Rielly scored in the opening frame to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
“It was a timely goal, too, right away to get us going,” Smith said. “Some nice plays there allowed me to get the shot off. They’ve been playing well too. So we knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle. It’s just great to get on the board first.”
Sissons, and Kunin rallied the Predators back for a 2-2 tie heading to the third period..
“I think we responded well,” Sissons said. “We had a couple of mistakes sorting out some coverage on rushes early on, which will happen, but I really liked our response. We lost the hockey game but got a huge point. I think we can build off this game. That shouldn’t be one that hurts our confidence at all.”
Juuse Saros made 40 saves in the Nashville loss.
“We felt like one break either way was going to end the game,” Sissons said. “Tough way to end it. but I think we are matching up very strong against the elite of the NHL and I think we are proving that every time we go head-to-head with them.”
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