The Boston Bruins’ first victory of the 2017-18 NHL season didn’t come easy.
The B’s beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Thursday night at TD Garden in both teams’ season opener. Three of the four Bruins goals were scored by recent first-round draft picks, highlighting the bright future that likely lies ahead for the Original Six franchise.
Boston led 4-1 with less than three minutes remaining in the third period, but two power-play goals for Nashville created some tense moments in the final 35 seconds of regulation. The B’s held on, though, earning an impressive win over the defending Western Conference champions.
Here’s how it all went down.
PASTA GOAL
David Pastrnak scored Boston’s first goal of the season in the first period. He took a Charlie McAvoy pass and fired a shot from the point that beat Preds goalie Pekka Rinne. The goal came during a 5-on-3 power play for the Bruins.
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Adam McQuaid and Cody McLeod provided some first-period entertainment with a fight.
LATE EQUALIZER
Viktor Arvidsson put Nashville on the board with just 10.8 seconds remaining in the first period. The Bruins won the faceoff, but the Preds quickly regained possession after Pastrnak lost the puck.
FIRST GOALS
Jake DeBrusk and McAvoy both scored their first career NHL goals in the second period, giving the B’s a 3-1 lead at the intermission.
DeBrusk scored first, pulling off a nifty move to put Boston ahead 2-1. His Dad, Louie, shed a tear in the crowd after watching his son score for the first time.
McAvoy put the Bruins up 3-1. It was his second point of the night.
Two Bruins players scoring their first career goals in the same game hadn’t happened since February of 1949.
LATE FLURRY
Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who scored a career-high 39 goals last season, got his first tally of the new campaign with an empty-net shot from his own zone late in the third period to put the B’s up 4-1.
It proved to be the game-winning score, as Predators forwards Scott Hartnell and Filip Forsberg each scored power-play goals in the final two minutes to trim Boston’s lead to 4-3 with 35 seconds left in the game.
UP NEXT
The Bruins return to action Monday afternoon against the Colorado Avalanche. Puck drop at TD Garden is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
