Game Day: Preds at Bruins Preview

The Nashville Predators saw their win streak conclude at five games on Thursday night, but the chance to start a new run begins this afternoon when the Preds face the Boston Bruins with a 12 p.m. CT puck drop from TD Garden. Today's game is the second of two meetings between the clubs this season; the Bruins shut out the Predators by a 2-0 final back in December at Bridgestone Arena.
The Preds had won each of their five games in 2022 entering Thursday's contest against Buffalo, including a 5-4 overtime victory against Colorado on Tuesday, but the Sabres prevailed by defeating Nashville 4-1 in a game the home team said wasn't their best. Now, the Predators are excited for the next challenge today in Boston, but they won't necessarily be taking the lessons from the loss to Buffalo with them, as Preds Head Coach John Hynes explained.

"There's different challenges that you go through during the year, particularly with 82 games," Hynes said following Friday's practice in Nashville. "We came off of a game that was hyped up by the outside versus Colorado, and it was a big, emotional win. And coming from an emotional win to get ready for the next opponent, we didn't do a good enough job in that area - any of us, obviously - based on our performance, because we got outplayed. The better team won the game [Thursday]. There's going to be other situations where we may come off of a rivalry game or a Central Division game or a real physical, hard-fought battle, and we're going to have to get ourselves back up and ready to play the next opponent. And we didn't do a great job of that.
"So, to me, that's a great experience that we can take the next time this happens, But, to me, I think the important thing is to focus on now we have a different type of game. We have an [afternoon] game - how are we going to respond to a game that we all collectively felt we didn't bring the competitive level we needed to be at? And we're facing a team that's red hot, and that's our next challenge. How do we answer this challenge?"
Preds forwards Filip Forsberg and Yakov Trenin both missed Thursday's game after remaining on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list. Defenseman Mark Borowiecki was also absent against Buffalo and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The Predators will not hold a morning skate with today's afternoon start time.

The Good Guys:

Matt Duchene scored the lone goal for the Preds in Thursday's loss - his third-straight tally on the power play for Nashville. Duchene leads the club with 17 goals and is second in points (34) only to Preds Captain Roman Josi (12g-26a) who has 38 points in 36 games this season. Mikael Granlund (5g-28a) has 33 points for the Preds, Ryan Johansen has 10 goals and 30 points and rookie forward Tanner Jeannot has 12 goals and 23 points. Goaltender Juuse Saros, who was named an NHL All-Star on Thursday, is 20-10-1 in net for the Preds; David Rittich is 3-1-1.

The Opposition:

The Bruins have only lost once in eight tries in the year 2022, and that includes a current four-game win streak and a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday with a hat trick from David Pastrnak. Brad Marchand leads the Bruins with 19 goals and 41 points, followed by Pastrnak (16g-14a) with 30 points and Patrice Bergeron (11g-17a) with 28 points. Goaltender Tuukka Rask, who just returned to the Bruins this week, won his season debut on Thursday night, while Linus Ullmark is 12-5-0 on the campaign.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 14-15-(1)-2 all-time against the Bruins, including a 4-8-(1)-2 record on the road. Nashville last played in Boston on Dec. 21, 2019, a 4-3 overtime victory for the Predators that featured two goals from Roman Josi.
The Predators are 2-3-0 in their last five games at TD Garden. Nashville has won six of its last 11 meetings against Boston (6-5-0).

Notables Versus Boston:

Ryan Johansen has 13 points (4g-9a) in 17 career games vs. the Bruins. Johansen recorded three assists at Boston on Dec. 21, 2020. Roman Josi has five goals and 10 points in 17 career games against Boston.
Dante Fabbro played three seasons of collegiate hockey for Boston University from 2016-19, appearing in 111 games while posting 80 points (22g-58a), the most among team defensemen in that span.
Predators Head Coach John Hynes and Assistant General Manager/Director of Scouting Jeff Kealty both played college hockey at Boston University. Hynes and Kealty helped lead the Terriers to four consecutive Frozen Four appearances and the 1995 NCAA title.
Bruins forward Craig Smith played 661 games for Nashville from 2011-20, tallying 162 goals and 330 points. Bruins forward Erik Haula played the 2020-21 season in Nashville and had 21 points (9g-12a) in 51 games.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for today's 12 p.m. CT puck drop from Boston begins at 11:30 a.m. CT with the Predators Live! pregame show on Bally Sports South. Willy Daunic, Chris Mason and Lyndsay Rowley have the call on the television side, while Pete Weber and Hal Gill will broadcast on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. Pregame coverage on the radio begins at 11 a.m. with Darren McFarland. For broadcast information and channel locations throughout the country, click here.