The Boston Bruins walked away from their Monday-Tuesday back-to-back with three out of a possible four points. On paper, that’s a solid haul. But if you watched those third periods against the Rangers and Predators, you know it didn’t come easy-and it certainly didn’t feel secure.
Let’s start with Monday night at Madison Square Garden. The Bruins had the lead for most of the game, but the third period told a different story.
Will Borgen tied it late with a shot from the point, and that goal felt inevitable given how Boston was playing. The Bruins weren’t pressing; they were surviving.
New York didn’t dominate the stat sheet-both teams had eight shots on goal in the third-but the momentum clearly swung in the Rangers’ favor. The Bruins looked tentative, and when Matthew Robertson powered past Pavel Zacha in overtime and beat Joonas Korpisalo, it was a gut punch.
Boston left with a point, but it felt like one they let slip away.
That’s the kind of game that lingers, and with travel issues leading into Tuesday’s matchup in Nashville, the Bruins came in looking like a team with heavy legs and a heavier memory.
They started strong, building another lead, but once again, the third period became a test of endurance-and not the good kind. David Pastrnak took a costly penalty late in the second, and the Predators cashed in on the power play to cut the lead.
Then, in almost déjà vu fashion, Nick Blankenburg tied it late in the third. It was a clutch goal, and it capped off a period where the Predators peppered the net with 20 shot attempts.
Jeremy Swayman was sharp, stopping 10 of 11 shots in that frame alone, but the pressure was relentless.
Boston, meanwhile, managed just one high-danger chance in the entire third period. That’s not going to cut it, especially against a team as opportunistic as Nashville.
Fortunately for the Bruins, overtime gave them a chance to flip the script, and they did just that. Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy connected on a slick sequence that ended with the game-winner-an exhale moment for a team that desperately needed one.
So yes, three points out of four is a good result. But the Bruins know they were dangerously close to walking away with just two. And while it’s encouraging to see stars like Pastrnak step up in big moments, the bigger picture is hard to ignore: Boston has a third-period problem.
If this team wants to stay in the playoff picture, they need to find a way to close games with more authority. Giving up late goals in back-to-back nights, especially against a struggling Rangers squad and a middle-of-the-pack Predators team, isn’t a sustainable formula.
The Bruins have the talent. They’ve shown flashes of the kind of hockey that can win in April. But if they keep letting teams hang around, those playoff dreams could fade fast.