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Nashville Predators at Boston Bruins

Thu Oct 227:00 PM ETESPN+Boston, MA
By JR·2 min read
Predators(3-2-3)
Bruins(7-2-0)
Thursday 10/227:00 PM

TLDR: Boston has spent October scoring at will, and Nashville has spent it trying to figure out who it is. The two meet at TD Garden on Thursday, October 22, and the Bruins have a trip to Dallas to get through first.

THU 10/22, 7:00 PMESPN+
Predators
(3-2-3)
WLLLW
Bruins
(7-2-0)
WWWWW

Boston comes in as one of the league's hottest teams, carried by Pastrnak's point streak and strong 3rd periods, but it plays at Dallas on Tuesday and comes back home on short rest. Nashville has been stuck around .500 and losing close games, with Stamkos and Saros keeping it competitive, and it gets several days off before visiting the Garden. Boston's depth and Pastrnak's form face Nashville's rest and goaltending.

Nashville Predators
  • No game between now and Thursday; fully rested
  • Stamkos has 8 points in his first 7 games
  • Saros made 30 saves in the San Jose shootout
  • Lost 3 of 4 before beating St. Louis
  • Close games keep slipping away: Ottawa, San Jose
  • Center Mavrik Bourque listed day-to-day
Boston Bruins
  • Pastrnak has 10 points in a 5-game point streak
  • Scored 3 times in the 3rd period to win in LA
  • Swayman steady in the California sweep
  • Plays at Dallas 2 days before this game
  • Zacha day-to-day, Zadorov scratched against the Kings
  • Coming home off a long West Coast trip

The Bruins are 7-2-0 and had won 5 straight as of Monday, and the run has felt complete. They swept the California swing through San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles. The last win was a 4-1 night in LA where they fell behind 31 seconds in and then scored 3 times in the 3rd period. Marat Khusnutdinov broke the tie at 13:36, and Elias Lindholm and JJ Peterka put it away. Jeremy Swayman stopped 25 shots.

David Pastrnak is driving all of it. He has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) during a 5-game point streak, and his goal in LA was his 289th career even-strength goal, which ties Phil Esposito's Bruins record. That means he could break it at the Garden on Thursday, unless he gets it done in Dallas first. Boston is also watching its lineup. Pavel Zacha is listed day-to-day, and Nikita Zadorov was scratched against the Kings after taking 2 penalties on the same shift against Anaheim the night before.

Before any of this, Boston plays in Dallas on Tuesday, and that game shapes Thursday. The Stars are a real test after a West Coast trip that ended with a back-to-back. Whatever happens there, Boston then flies home and plays again 2 days later. Every streak number in this preview describes the Bruins as of today, and Tuesday could change it.

Nashville Predators
(3-2-3)
10/18WvsBlues5-2
10/16LvsSharks2-3
10/14LvsGolden Knights2-5
10/10L@Senators2-3
10/08W@Canadiens5-2
Boston Bruins
(7-2-0)
10/18W@Kings4-1
10/17W@Ducks4-2
10/14W@Sharks6-3
10/10WvsFlyers5-1
10/08WvsMammoth6-1

Nashville is in a different place. The Predators are 3-2-3 and went 2-3 over their last 5, and the losses were mostly close: 3-2 to Ottawa, a shootout loss to San Jose in which Juuse Saros made 30 saves, and a 5-2 loss at home to Vegas. Steven Stamkos has given them offense, with 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists) in his first 7 games. They also beat St. Louis 5-2 last time out. Unlike Boston, Nashville plays nothing between now and Thursday, so it arrives in Boston rested.

The Predators have also changed their roster. They added defenseman Jayden Struble from Montreal for a 2027 second-round pick and sent goaltender Matt Murray down to AHL Milwaukee. On Thursday they need more of their 1-goal games to break their way, and more scoring from players other than Stamkos, against a Bruins team that has been winning 3rd periods. Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET.

Predators vs. Bruins: Polymarket Odds & Prediction (Oct. 22) — Pastrnak and the Bruins Host Stamkos and a Searching Predators Team · Barstool Bush