The Bruins will face their biggest challenge of the 2018-19 season so far on Saturday when they take on the Nashville Predators on the road. Follow along for updates from Saturday’s game:
WHO: Bruins (7-3-2) at Predators (10-3-0)
WHEN: 8:00 p.m. EST
WHERE: Bridgestone Arena
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub
LIVE BOX SCORE: NHL.com
TICKETS: BSJ ticket partner SeatsForEveryone.com
LIVE COVERAGE:
10:50: Final: B's fall to Nashville, 1-0.
10:41: Empty net for Bruins. 2:02 to go.
10:29: Krejci tries to tip one home, but Rinne makes the stop.
10:23: Good shift from the Krejci line, but Subban spikes a fluttering puck out of danger and Nashville breaks out again.
10:16: Lauzon gets his pocket picked by Smith but Halak denies him at the crease. Huge stop.
10:14: Better start for the B's, while Krug fishes a puck out of the crease.
10:09: B's kill off another Nashville power play. 0-6 on the night for Nashville.
10:05: Third period underway.
9:47: Preds will head back on the power play to open the third. Kampfer called for a trip with three seconds to go in the second. SOG in favor of Nashville,
9:44: Not a great power play for the B's to end the second stanza.
9:36: Marchand back out on the ice.
9:28: Good look from Wagner but Rinne makes the pad save. B's with just 13 shots on goal through 33 minutes of play.
9:25: B's back on the power play after Pastrnak draws a hook. B's treading water with Marchand still in the locker room.
9:19: B's with some extended zone time, but Boston can't convert on the man advantage.
9:16: B's kill off all four minutes of penalties. Now Boston heads to the power play after Ha
9:10: Second period underway. Brad Marchand also given a 10 minute misconduct following the end of the first stanza. Yikes. Brutal call, but Marchand needs to be better there.
8:56: END FIRST: Nashville leads, 1-0. Brad Marchand will spend almost four minutes in the box for a high stick and unsportsmanlike conduct. Colton Sissons embellished the high stick, but Marchand needs to be better there. Losing him for four minutes is a tough hit.
8:49: Nice steal from Lauzon leads to a great shorthanded bid from Marchand.
8:45: Zero shots on goal for the B's on the power play. Now Acciari is whistled for a hook. 2:45 left in the first.
8:43: B's to the power play. Weber called for a hook.
8:41: Josi scores at 14:49 to put Nashville up, 1-0. Some puck watching there from Heinen and Krug.
8:38: B's kill off Carlo's penalty.
8:36: For as good as they've been, the Predators are 29th in the NHL in terms of power play percentage.
8:35: Carlo called for a hook. B's head to the PK.
8:31: Bergeron with a great backcheck to break up a fantastic chance from Fiala.
8:26: Woof. Lauzon slams into Bjork on the blue line and it leads to another rush for Nashville.
8:25: Nashville can get bodies down the other end of the ice in a hurry. They have talent up and down their roster.
8:19: Entertaining start so far. Shame these two teams won't match up too often this season. Halak with a couple of glove saves already.
8:12: Puck dropped in the first.
7:59: Tonight will be a big test for the Bruins against a stacked Preds team. Will be interesting to see if Halak can continue to run with the opportunity he's earned. Halak is 14-3-5 with a 1.94 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 23 games against the Predators.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BRUINS:
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen - David Krejci - Jake DeBrusk
Anders Bjork - Joakim Nordstrom - David Backes
Chris Wagner - Sean Kuraly - Noel Acciari
Zdeno Chara - Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug - John Moore
Jeremy Lauzon - Steven Kampfer
Jaroslav Halak
Tuukka Rask
PREDATORS:
Filip Forsberg - Ryan Johansen - Kevin Fiala
Calle Jarnkrok - Kyle Turris - Craig Smith
Ryan Hartman - Nick Bonino - Colton Sissons
Miikka Salomaki - Frederick Gaudreau - Rocco Grimaldi
Defense
Roman Josi - Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm - P.K. Subban
Matt Irwin - Yannick Weber
Goaltenders
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
PREGAME NOTES:
- For the fifth time in the last seven games, Jaroslav Halak gets the start in net for the Bruins tonight. The goalie has won a majority of reps over the last couple of weeks after a dominant start (4-0-2, .947 save percentage).
- “It’s more about his performance than Tuukka’s, to be honest with you,” Bruce Cassidy said. “He’s just played really well. He’s got points every time he’s in the net. So you’ve got to ride the hot hand. I think Tuukka’s game could be better, but it’s still solid. It’s just that Jaro has been better right now. “
- Barring any last-minute changes, David Backes will return to the lineup Saturday after missing the last five games with a concussion. He will slot in on the third line in place of Ryan Donato, who was assigned to Providence on Thursday.
- The Predators have been on a roll this season, posting a franchise-best start with a record of 10-3-0. Nashville’s top strength lies in its D corps, rolling out a number of top blue liners in P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and more.
- "They're deep,” Marchand said of Nashville. “They're a really good team and they will be for awhile. The D corps that they have and how hard they work, the goalie back there. We're going to need to be our best if we want to have an opportunity to win that game."
- Winger Viktor Arvidsson, who has been day to day with a lower body, likely won’t be able to play Saturday. The 25-year-old forward has tallied eight goals and 12 points over 12 games this season.
- Kyle Turris has had the Bruins’ number over the years, posting 19 points — including five multi-point games — in 27 career games against the Black and Gold.