Predators Battle Back in Boston, But Fall Short in OT
The Nashville Predators showed fight in the third period, but a late push wasn’t enough to steal two points in Boston. Instead, they’ll settle for one after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Bruins on Tuesday night at TD Garden - a tough pill to swallow as they begin a critical three-game road swing and continue their chase for a Wild Card spot.
Down 2-0 midway through the second, the Preds clawed their way back thanks to goals from captain Roman Josi and defenseman Nick Blankenburg. It was the kind of response you like to see from a team in the thick of a playoff race - gritty, determined, and fueled by belief - but it came just a little too late.
“It’s nice to come back after being down 2-0,” Josi said postgame. “But we didn’t quite get to our game in the first two periods.
The third period, we had a good push and played pretty well. Wish we got two [points].”
That third-period spark Josi mentioned? It was real.
Nashville looked like a different team in the final 20 minutes - faster, more aggressive, and finally playing to their identity. But in a league where margins are razor-thin, slow starts often come back to bite you.
And against a team like Boston, you don’t get many second chances.
“It was a gutsy third period,” Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “But obviously a little inconsistent in the first two periods.
Didn’t really love our early part of the game. I thought we kind of got going in the first, second was kind of back and forth, and I thought in the third, we really got to our game.”
Brunette added that had the game continued in regulation, he believed his team had the momentum to finish the job. But overtime is a different animal - possession is king, and one mistake can end it. That’s exactly what happened when David Pastrnak found the puck early in the extra frame and made the most of it, sealing the win for Boston.
The Bruins opened the scoring in the first and doubled their lead in the second, but Nashville finally broke through late in the middle frame. Ryan O’Reilly connected with Josi across the ice, and the captain blasted home a one-timer on the power play to cut the deficit in half before intermission.
Blankenburg brought the Preds all the way back in the third, wiring a snap shot past Jeremy Swayman to tie the game and inject some serious life into the Nashville bench. From there, the Predators kept pressing, looking like the more dangerous team down the stretch. But they couldn’t find the go-ahead goal, and Pastrnak made them pay in OT.
Still, there’s something to be said for the fight. This wasn’t a team that folded after going down two in a tough road building. They found a way to get back in it, and that kind of resilience matters - especially in a playoff race.
“I think we just keep fighting,” Josi said. “We keep believing that we can come back.
It wasn’t our best the first two periods, but we found a way. It’s tough in this league to come back all the time, so we’ve got to make sure we’re playing with the lead a little bit more.”
That’ll be the focus moving forward - better starts, more consistency, and playing with the lead instead of chasing it. Because as Josi pointed out, playing from behind in today’s NHL is a dangerous game.
The road trip continues Thursday in New Jersey, followed by a stop on Long Island before the Olympic break. It’s a pivotal stretch for a Predators team still very much in the hunt, and the mindset is clear: take it one game at a time, but win the week.
“We want to win the week,” Brunette said. “It would’ve been nice to get two [points], we got one. Anytime you get one on the road when you’re down late, you take it and move on - knowing we could be a little bit better through 60 going into Jersey.”
Quick Hits:
- Fedor Svechkov exited in the first period after taking a hit and did not return.
The team listed it as an upper-body injury.
- Defenseman Andreas Englund made his season debut after being recalled from Milwaukee.
The Preds went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, scratching Tyson Jost and Ozzy Wiesblatt.
- Just five games remain before the Olympic break, and every point matters.
The Predators will look to bounce back Thursday night against the Devils.
This one stings - no doubt about it - but there’s still plenty of hockey left on this trip. And if Nashville can bottle that third-period energy and bring it from puck drop in New Jersey, they’ll give themselves a real shot to get back in the win column.