Bruins suffer brutal loss to Predators

The Bruins picked the worst possible time for one of their worst and most unnecessarily losses of the season Thursday night in Nashville.

Not only was this Boston's final game before Friday's trade deadline (and with Don Sweeney still not sure what he wants to do in a seller-friendly market), and not only were they going against a Nashville team that's already sold off multiple pieces, but the Bruins were also trying to fend off a Columbus squad that simply refuses to go away. In essence, it was just the latest 'most important game of the season' in a finish that's going to be completely full of them.

And the Bruins no-showed in downright brutal fashion, with a 6-3 loss, and with a box score that made things look closer than they ever really were.

Down 1-0 through 20 minutes of play, the Bruins outright fell apart with four goals allowed in the middle frame, including a stretch that saw Nashville put three by Joonas Korpisalo in a 4:26 span to by all means put this game to bed.

Whether it was allowing access to the 'high-danger' areas without enough resistance or screening their own goaltender, the Black and Gold's defensive effort was not up to the standard that Bruins head coach Marco Sturm has established as the absolute must-have for his club to win games.

“I didn’t like our mentality going in," Sturm, whose team is 2-2-0 since the Olympic break, said postgame. "It’s not like we took it lightly, but the guys who came in [for Nashville] worked extremely hard. And that was the difference."

Sturm was also quick to downplay any 'deadline nerves' hanging over the club.

"Just didn't play good, that's all," said Sturm.

Boston's goals in the losing effort came from Morgan Geekie, Charlie McAvoy, and Viktor Arvidsson. Geekie's goal was the 34th of his season, which established a new single-season career-high, and means that Mike Felger will now have to eat a hat sometime between now and the end of the season. (I'm not sure how official any of these declarations are, to be honest.)

Elsewhere in the lineup, defenseman Jordan Harris jumped back into the lineup for what was his first NHL action since Oct. 21. Harris, who suffered a broken ankle in that Oct. 21 game, finished with a shot and a minus-1 rating in 16:03, and skated in place Jonathan Aspirot (illness).

Beyond the obvious of the Predators being a downright bad team, the loss stung extra for the Bruins because the Blue Jackets stayed winning and are now just one point behind the Bruins for the final wild card spot in the East.

The Bruins will get back to work Saturday with a 12:30 p.m. head-to-head with the Capitals at TD Garden. But up first for the Bruins will be the 2026 NHL trade deadline, which will be at 3 p.m. Friday.