Bruins recover, defeat Predators in OT for fifth straight win

BOSTON --Taylor Hall scored at 1:41 of overtime to give the Boston Bruins their fifth straight win, 4-3 against the Nashville Predators at TD Garden on Saturday.

Hall scored on a rebound after Predators goalie Juuse Saros blocked David Pastrnak's wrist shot.
"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."
Hall and Brad Marchand each had a goal and an assist, and Patrice Bergeron had two assists for Boston (22-11-2). Linus Ullmark made 26 saves.
Roman Josi, Colton Sissons and Luke Kunin scored, and Saros made 40 saves for the Predators (24-12-3), who have lost two straight following a five-game winning streak.
"I really liked our game tonight," Nashville 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."

Craig Smith scored at 3:20 of the first period to give Boston a 1-0 lead with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle on a touch-pass from Bergeron. Smith played nine seasons for the Predators from 2011-2020.
"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."
Mike Reilly made it 2-0 at 7:37, scoring on a forehand-backhand move.
Sissons scored to make it 2-1 at 14:30 with a wrist shot from the high slot.
"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."
Kunin tied it 2-2 at 7:32 of the second period with a wrist shot through the legs of Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo at the top of the right circle. Marchand gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead on the power play at 3:50 of the third period with a snap shot from the right face-off circle for his 20th goal of the season.
"They had a good push in the second, we knew they would," Boston 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."

Josi tied it 3-3 at 6:26 with a wrist shot from the left point off a Boston turnover.
"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."
NOTES:Marchand has scored multiple points in five straight games (eight goals, four assists), tying his longest NHL streak (three goals, nine assists from Feb. 5-12, 2019). It is the 11th time Marchand has scored at least 20 goals. Johnny Bucyk (16) and Patrice Bergeron (12) have more such seasons in Bruins history. … Smith is sixth in Predators history with 330 points (162 goals, 168 assists) in 661 games. … Nashville defenseman Dante Fabbro left the game at 9:22 of the third period with an undisclosed injury after a hit from Marchand. There was no update. … Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol before the game.