Final thoughts

It’s been the same story but a different verse for the Black and Gold. The effort was there, but the execution was not.

With their 3-2 loss to the Predators on Tuesday night, the Bruins have dropped eight of their last 10.

– The Bruins simply ran out of gas late in the third. The Preds dominated in zone time and spent a good chunk of the last five minutes peppering Rask. If it wasn’t for Tuukka standing tall during that sequence, then the B’s would not have gotten a point, plain and simple.

– Trying to take positives during this skid difficult. When things are going well, this would’ve been a good “road point”, but until they start getting the bounces, the Bruins will need to find some more solutions. This wasn’t a bad start to the road trip for the Black and Gold by any means, but the frustration is mounting for sure.

– The Black and Gold have a quick turnaround as they face the Minnesota Wild in 24 hours.

Second period quick hits

– Beating Pekka Rinne is not an easy task. The best way to get one past him is to get traffic in front and that’s what the Bruins did on Milan Lucic’s sixth of the season – shortly after the second B’s power play expired – to break the ice and give his team a 1-0 lead. Whether they get another past the Finnish goalie remains to be seen, but they have a good formula to work with.

– For all the good Lucic did on the first goal, however, he wiped it out with a late hooking penalty on Seth Jones in the Bruins’ attacking end late in the second period. That led to Mike Fisher’s tying goal with 29.2 seconds left in the middle stanza – the Preds’ first power play goal in their last 43 attempts at home.

– Both teams are bringing the physicality so far. Dennis Seidenberg and Mike Fisher laid out two of the biggest hits of the night, while Reilly Smith is also getting into the action.

– The B’s are certainly a better team when they score first. They are 8-5-1 when tallying that first goal, but have lost two of their last three when lightning the lamp first.

First period quick hits

Greetings from the Bridgestone Arena where the Bruins and Nashville Predators are scoreless after 20 minutes of play.

We got here a little late tonight, but as you well know, Joe Morrow, David Krejci and Matt Bartkowski were the scratches. At pregame, Morrow was supposed to take the lineup and Zach Trotman was going to be scratched. But due to the last minute decision by Claude Julien, Trotman skated in his usual spot with Torey Krug and the rookie Morrow was left as a scratch for the xxth straight game.

Per the Bruins twitter account (@NHLBruins), here was Julien’s statement:

Morrow on the ice for warmups but didn’t take part in rushes. Julien’s quote from after pregame skate… ^CS pic.twitter.com/JY7pDfjh3G

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 17, 2014

– The Bruins did not register their first shot on goal until 6:48 in when Krug’s shot was stopped by Rinne. But they built a little momentum for a while following that and got traffic in front of Rinne. Easier said than done to beat the Preds netminder, who came into tonight’s contest with 19 wins, a .937 save percentage and a stingy 1.78 goals against average.

– Once again, Julien went with three defensemen and two forwards on the Bruins’ first man advantage. Zdeno Chara was stationed in his usual spot in front of Rinne, while Krug and Trotman were set up at the points and Marchand and Seth Griffith were up front. There’s no denying that Julien is everything he can to spark his team, but the results and the lack of puck movement are just not their for the B’s man advantage.

– I’ve always been impressed with the Preds fan base on social media, and I must say, they are pretty lively here in Downtown Nashville. If you ever get a chance to go to a game or visit the city, it’s well worth your trip.
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