Christmas is on the Verge of Being Cancelled In A Few Days for the Bruins After Yet Another OT Loss

It is a few days before Christmas but the Bruins (21-7-8) must feel like they are living in the movie "Groundhog Day." After falling 4-3 tonight at TD Garden to the Predators (17-12-6) in overtime, they have now lost eight of their last nine games. What makes this skid even more frustrating is that so many of them have been decided by just a single goal. Boston entered the third period with a 2-1 lead but in the span of 35 seconds, goaltender Jaroslav Halak (25 saves, 8-3-4) made two fatal mistakes. The Bruins tied it with an extra skater on the ice with 1:05 left in regulation to bail him out but as usual, going into OT or a shootout didn't end well for the Black and Gold. Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis won it with 54.2 seconds left in the extra session, which at least spared us from another shootout (where they are 0-5) loss.

I technically watched the entire scoreless first period but I have to admit that I was very distracted by the Patriots' win over the Bills that clinched their 11th consecutive AFC (L)East title. For the third game in a row (all losses), Boston scored first as Par Lindholm (who had been a healthy scratch for the past 6 games) drove to the net for a rebound and was rewarded as the puck deflected in the net off of Nashville center Kyle Turris. Lindholm's second goal of the season snapped a 15-game scoreless stretch for him with assists to Brett Ritchie (who hadn't played the last 3 games) and Sean Kuraly at 7:30. Roman Josi tied it at one at 12:14 when his screened backhander found its way by Halak. Ryan Johansen had the lone assist on Josi's 12th goal of the season. Things seemed fine for the B's though as Patrice Bergeron put in a one-timer from his famous bumper position on the power play with 47.7 seconds left in the frame. David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand got the assists on Bergeron's 12th goal of the season.

The Bruins had been 12-0-2 this season when they led after two periods while the Preds were 3-9-3 when they trailed after two. If only things were that simple, right? Halak has been really good in 2019-20 and I believe that him and Tuukka Rask form the best 1-2 goaltender combination in the NHL. With that said, everyone has a rough game from time to time and surprisingly, his night unraveled in the third. First, Nashville was about to get a power play (it was a delayed penalty) when Filip Forsberg put a no-angle shot on Halak from the side of the net that somehow snuck in. The 13th goal of the season for Forsberg (tying him with BU's Nick Bonino for the team lead) featured assists from Johansen and Mattias Ekholm. If you thought that was bad (and it was), you hadn't seen anything yet as Halak topped it with a Cardinal sin for a goalie: getting caught way too far out of his net trying to play the puck. Ironically, he beat Josi to the loose puck but wasn't able to do anything with that advantage. Instead, he meekly cleared it right to him and the Swiss defenseman fired it into the vacated net before Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy could block it with his diving body.

Bergeron's clutch tying goal was just another chapter in a career full of such moments for the future Hall-of-Famer. He tipped in David Pastrnak's shot with Brad Marchand being credited with the secondary assist. Nashville's game-winning goal in overtime had to be the result of one final bad bounce for the home team as a clearing attempt behind their own net went off a ref and stayed there allowing Johansen to feed a wide open Turris out front for the one-timer. Turris had the other assist on Ellis' sixth goal of the season and his second career OT tally. You won't find two much worse teams in the NHL when it comes to overtime since they are both 2-4 with this latest result.

Let's hope that the old reverse lock is in effect for the Bruins on Monday (7, NESN) because on paper, it doesn't look too hot with the best team in the league-the Caps (26-6-5)-coming in here for one last game before a much-needed three-day Christmas break. Oh and did I mention that Washington has won 15 out of the last 16 times that they've met Boston, including twice already this season (3-2 in a shootout here on Nov. 16 and 3-2 last Wednesday in D.C.)? The Capitals have the best record, the most points (57), the highest goal-differential (+30) and they are the top road team in the NHL (16-3-1). Haha is that all? Honestly, almost nothing with the Bruins in the past week has made any sense so I think a blowout win against the Caps is a natural conclusion to this frustrating time. It doesn't matter how they get it, the B's desperately need a win, otherwise it's going to be a miserable few days stewing at home with their families and friends.

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Santa Bergeron (2 goals, 2 assists) Returns Right In Time to Save Christmas For The Bruins

I'm sure that I don't say this aloud often enough but games like today remind me why it's so fun to cover the Bruins and special players like future NHL Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron in particular. He had been out since November 16 with multiple injuries to his ribs and sternum but as usual, he delivered big-time in his return game with two goals and two assists as Boston (20-12-4) knocked off Nashville (22-13-2)-one of the NHL's true heavyweights-5-2 this afternoon at TD Garden. The B's have won three games in a row while the Preds go into Christmas break with a lump of coal in their skates after dropping their last four games.

The final score is misleading since this was a back-and-forth affair with Boston grabbing two leads then Nashville answered right back before the Bruins scored three consecutive goals to close out a dominant third period (outscoring the Predators 4-1 including an empty-netter). Jaroslav Halak (28 saves, 12-5-2) continued to play great as he's allowed a total of three goals in his last three starts combined all against playoff clubs (Montreal, Anaheim and Nashville) this past week. Boston's special teams continued to perform at a high level as well since the power play was 2-for-3 and the penalty kill was 2-for-2.

Bergy obviously opened the scoring at 15:10 of the first period when he took a pass from Charlie McAvoy, went from backhand to forehand and beat Pekka Rinne (27 saves, 14-8-1) for his 10th goal of the season. Brad Marchand had the second assist as Bergeron became the fourth Bruin this season to reach double-digit goals (David Pastrnak, Marchand and Jake DeBrusk). Boston improved to 13-4-0 at the Garden this season (2nd best home mark in the Eastern Conference behind Tampa Bay) and 13-4-0 when they score first. After McAvoy had a goal incorrectly wiped out for goalie interference on David Backes, Johansen tied it at one at 13:01 of the second period, an average shot that Halak normally stops with no issue. Craig Smith (not the fat guy that played basketball at BC) and Roman Josi had the assists on Johansen's sixth goal of the season.

After back-to-back stupid penalties by the Predators at the end of the second period (interference on Johansen and roughing on Mattias Ekholm) that nullified their own power play and gave Boston a 5-on-3 for 1:05 to start the third, the B's predictably made them pay. Nashville managed to kill the first penalty but before the second was over, Bergeron put the Black and Gold ahead 2-1 at 1:44. Danton Heinen (the new temporary right wing on the 1st line) and Pastrnak both whiffed on the puck but were still credited with assists as Bergeron was the guy to score on a similar forehand roof job like his first goal. Former Senators great Kyle Turris knotted things at two with a shot off the post and in at 9:17. His sixth goal of the season was assisted by Josi and Miikka Salomaki (most Finnish name ever?).

It was a great all-around performance by Boston's best players as Marchand's power play goal-that turned out to be the game-winner-made it 3-2 Bruins at 11:23. His 12th goal of the season was a one-timer that came from Pasta and Bergy. Marchy returned the favor to Pasta with an assist on his own one-timer via a 2-on-1 at 14:09 for a 4-2 Bruins advantage. Pastrnak's team-leading 23rd goal of the season was an interesting one since Marchand's pass was a bouncer so he barely got anything on the shot which probably helped it elude Rinne. I figured that Bergeron would get the requisite hat trick with an empty-net goal by hard-workin' Sean Kuraly instead did the honors at 18:01 for his second goal of the season, assisted by McAvoy and Halak (his 2nd of the season!).

Just one game-tomorrow at Carolina (5, NESN)-separates the B's from Christmas break (Dec. 24-26). By the time that they meet, the Hurricanes (14-14-5) could be under .500 as they host Pittsburgh (17-12-6) this evening. Four wins in a row and a .500 record on the road (currently 7-8-4) would be a pretty great way for the Bruins to get rewarded for their recent strong play. It feels like they usually win in Carolina and beat the Whalers I mean Hurricanes in general so I would expect a quality effort with Tuukka Rask (8-7-2) in between the pipes. Their next home game is on Thursday (7, NESN) vs. atrocious New Jersey (12-15-7) who for now reside in the basement of the Eastern Conference.

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Bruins Return Home With Nothing Left In the Tank, Lose 3-2 to the Predators

It is no use to complain about the rigors of an NHL schedule; there are countless tough stretches for every club and the Bruins (14-9-3) are currently going through that as they just returned from a Western Canada road trip (3 games in 4 days) and had to play Nashville (14-8-5) tonight at TD Garden. Boston made it more competitive than it probably deserved to be before falling 3-2, snapping their season-high eight-game point streak (6-0-2). Then again, the Predators outshot them 33-17 so perhaps Jonas Gustavsson (30 saves) should get most of the credit for keeping it close.

Boston actually led 1-0 in the first period and 2-1 in the second period but they couldn't sustain it and actually went over 34 minutes during the game between shots on goal (even-strength). It was a penalty-filled rare Monday night game with 10 penalties called on Boston and six on Nashville. There were also two fights as Brad Marchand grappled with Roman Josi and rookie Tyler Randell took on Eric Nystrom, both in the second period. Nashville power play went 2 for 7 while Boston's was 1 for 3, one of the key differences in the final result.

Fittingly for such a strange contest, it was a battle of backup goaltenders as Gustavsson took on UMass Lowell product Carter Hutton (15 saves). Kevan Miller gave the B's an early 1-0 lead at 4:13 of the first when his shot deflected in the Nashville goal off of Colton Sissons' skate. David Krejci and Matt Beleskey assisted on Miller's second goal of the season (1st since Oct. 14). Nashville took advantage of a 4-on-3 late in the frame as Josi scored his first of two goals, from scummy Mike Ribeiro and Shea Weber at 19:35.

Boston's power play answered midway through the second when Loui Eriksson tipped in a beautiful cross-ice pass from Ryan Spooner at 10:53. Patrice Bergeron assisted on Eriksson's 10th goal of the season (9th time in his career). Josi showed some more of his offensive skills on the power play 27 seconds later as he went to the net and beat Gustavsson to tie the game at two with his seventh goal of the season.

The Predators continued to dominate possession-wise in the third period so it was only a matter of time before they went ahead for good. The unlikely hero was Viktor Arvidsson who deked around Gustavsson and put the puck in the net, after Miller had fallen over retreating in his own zone. Arvidsson's third goal of the season was assisted by former Sabre Cody Hodgson and Weber (who has 3 goals & 5 assists in his last 4 games).

For Rivalry Night, Boston travels to Montreal (19-6-3) on Wednesday (7:30, NBCSN)-their last meeting before the Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium on New Year's Day. With Carey Price out again with a lower-body injury, Tuukka Rask and the B's are due to play well for once up North. After that, they return to the Garden to host Florida (13-10-4) on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN).

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