Despite loss, Bruins matching up well against best in the NHL

NASHVILLE – To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.

It’s an old saying in professional sports. So, despite a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Monday at Bridgestone Arena, there’s a bigger picture to be impressed with for the Boston Bruins. Minus a few bad mistakes, the Bruins have played two solid games against the defending Western Conference champions from the Music City.

Oh, and back up a minute. The Bruins recently defeated the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, which happens to be the best team in the Eastern Conference so far this season. The recent string of success for Boston began with two huge wins against the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks during a West Coast trip last month.



During those recent wins, the Bruins were defending better. When they did have a miscue during a game, they responded quicker. Boston managed the puck well. Turnovers were down and the Bruins weren’t allowing many quality-scoring chances for their opponents. It goes without saying that Boston’s goaltending has been solid too. Offensively, the Bruins have created more because the lineup’s nearly 100 percent healthy.

So, what type of team are the Bruins after 25 games?

They’re a team that has the ability to become a playoff contender. When the Penguins won the 2016 Stanley Cup, they went a stretch of 62 games without losing back-to-back from Jan. 15 until they hoisted the Cup on June 12.

This season, the Bruins have lost back-to-back games in regulation twice. They went 0-3-1 from Nov. 8 to Nov. 15 before their recent winning streak. After Monday’s loss, it’ll be interesting to see how the Bruins bounce back against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday at TD Garden.

“Not losing two in a row is a sign of a good team,” said veteran forward David Backes. “So, we need a great response when we play again.”

It’s also impressive that the Bruins remain just outside the playoff structure with all the injuries they have endured. Having to rely on rookies and a young core that's starting to come together will make everyone better in the long run.

“It made us a better team,” admitted Patrice Bergeron. “When you’re facing some big challenges like that early, it gives other guys opportunities and they’ve grabbed them. They’ve gotten some experiences, some looks that they wouldn’t have gotten that chance and it makes them better players and it makes us a better team.

“Right now we have the mentality that whoever’s in the lineup, we feel like we can do the job and that’s something pretty special to have. We have to keep that going and keep feeling good about the way that we play. Working on consistency is something we’ve talked about a lot.”

Monday’s early four-goal deficit was not ideal. It was horrendous. Something you can’t do against one of the best teams in the league. However, the Bruins showed something by scoring three goals and nearly pulling off a comeback against one of the best teams in the league.

“We’re a team that can be down but never out,” said Torey Krug. “We take a lot of pride in battling back in situations like that. It’s a fact that we’ll be in that situation again at some point throughout the season and it’s about limiting that and making sure we have the starts we consistently usually have. We’ve found a way to fix that part of our game and maybe we need to take control of it before it slips away again.”

The best teams in the league are fast, physical and play hard. The Bruins have the ability to play the same way. A little more consistency will go a long way with this team.

“We like to go toe-to-toe with a team like that,” Krug said.