The Nashville Predators battled through a tight, scoreless affair for 53-odd minutes, but ultimately fell to the Boston Bruins by a 3-0 decision at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.
“I thought it was a great hockey game,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought it was a playoff-type game, I thought we went toe-to-toe with a really good hockey team and I actually thought we got better as the game went on. I really liked our second and third period, I thought we were taking over the game. We put ourselves in a great position for somebody to make a play. Unfortunately, we made a play that ended up going the wrong way.”
“I think the way we played tonight was more our style,” Predators Captain Roman Josi said. “That's a really good team over there. They're one of the best teams in the League, and they played really hard tonight, they played really good. And I thought 5-on-5 we had our looks, they had their looks and it was a pretty even game. So, we're not going to get too low. Because like I said, I feel like our game is in order. There's some things we’ve got to do better, but we’re right back at it on Thursday.”
The result handed the Predators their third straight loss and moved the team to 43-28-4 with seven games left on the campaign.
QUICK HITS
Power Play Trouble
Nashville’s power play continued to be a sore spot on Tuesday, and the Predators left Bridgestone Arena empty handed despite four opportunities on the man advantage.
“We couldn't really set up and it felt like we never really got set,” Josi said. “On the entry we kind of got in, but then we couldn't get set and they pressure pretty hard, but we needed to make some plays just to get set and couldn’t really do that tonight.”
“We're trying to work on it,” Brunette said. “And it's been funny, I think we've had really good pace in big moments. The Vegas game and some of those games come to mind, where we needed a goal and we got some really good urgency. And there's games that we just get slow for some reason. And it's been a constant discussion. We move pieces in and out a little bit, it's just not flowing all that well right now and for a big chunk of the year.”
Pulling the Rope
Despite the final score, the Predators felt their efforts at 5-on-5 were largely where they needed to be. After all, keeping one of the best teams in the League off the board and on their toes for 53 minutes is no easy task.
With losses in three straight and an important Central Division skirmish due Thursday, the Predators will now need to battle through adversity to get back to their winning ways and cross the finish line on a postseason berth.
“[We’ve got to] keep pulling, keep moving forward and keep to our identity,” Brunette said. “You're not going to get rewarded every night for what you put in, but if you continuously put in the work, you'll get yours in the end. And tonight we didn't get ours. And during that stretch there were some nights and there were games like this where we got the bounce, we got the power-play goal or we got whatever. The last couple of games were on the other end. And I think the hockey gods have a funny way of making you really work to get momentum back.”
“We're doing some good things, it’s just not good enough to win games, and this is a great opportunity for us,” Predators forward Ryan O’Reilly said. “It's a good time to have adversity going into playoffs and to earn that playoff spot. I think it's something that we have to lean into or be excited for. We're disappointed that we've lost these last few, but there's a great opportunity here to really rally together and start to make our push.”
UP NEXT
The Predators two-game homestand concludes with a Central Division showdown against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. Click here to get tickets.
Puck drop at Bridgestone Arena is at 7 p.m. CT with the game set to broadcast on ESPN+/Hulu, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.
NOTES
- Tuesday was the second time this season the Predators have been shut out and the first time they’ve been shut out at Bridgestone Arena; the last was on Dec. 9 vs. Toronto, a 4-0 loss at Scotiabank Arena.
- Alexandre Carrier returned from injury for his first game since March 23 and recorded one shot and one blocked shot over 19:22 of total ice time.
- Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Tyson Barrie, Anthony Beauvillier and Dante Fabbro were scratched and did not skate in Tuesday’s game.
