But after dominating the Predators for the bulk of the game and outshooting them 41-22, the Bruins found themselves trailing by a goal with just over a minute left in regulation.
It would have been easy for frustration to set in at that point. The kind of frustration that led to a series of penalties against the Sabres and helped turn that loss into a lopsided 6-0 rout. But there was no repeat of that on Saturday.
"The level of frustration was pretty low," Bruins forward Shawn Thornton said. "We were very happy with the way we were playing, so focus on the positives, not the negatives. If you focus on the negatives you'll never get ahead in anything."
The Bruins didn't get ahead in regulation, but they did pull even with 1:07 left in the third. That came after pulling goalie Tim Thomas for the extra attacker — a 6-on-4 advantage with Boston already on a power play. And Milan Lucic took advantage with a rebound at the right post to tie the game. Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron eventually scored in the shootout as the Bruins prevailed 4-3.
"We kind of needed that break," Bruins coach Claude Julien said of Lucic's goal. "It would have been a real tough loss had we not been able to come out with a win the way we had played this afternoon. He found a way to get us back into it, and we did it the hard way, but at the end of the night, we got ourselves a win."
The Bruins outshot Nashville 16-6 in the first period, but came away with just a 1-0 lead thanks to a Bergeron shorthanded tally. They allowed just one Nashville shot for the first 15:15 of the second period, but the Predators scored on that lone chance when Shea Weber tied it with a blast from the left point on the power play.
The Bruins jumped back ahead early in the third when Daniel Paille scored from Thornton, but Nashville again scored on its only shot in the first 12 minutes of the period when Patric Hornqvist tied it 2-2 midway through the frame. Then Mike Fisher put the Predators ahead at 16:28 and all of Boston's hard work appeared destined to go for naught.
"We thought we deserved better," Bergeron said. "We played well, we had a lot of chances, and we had to find a way. I think that's what we talked about before the game, it was to play for 60 minutes and to not let up and we did that. They scored on their chances, their opportunities, but we came back and we found the big goals."
Even with time running out, the Bruins didn't stray from their game plan or let the frustration set in.
"No, not at all," Lucic said when asked if there was any frustration. "I think that was the difference. There was that positive feel from getting all the shots and scoring chances. We just kept talking about, 'Keep it going, keep it going, they're going to eventually start going in.' And that was more the talk that was going on today. That was the difference from last game."
That and the difference in the final score.
Lucic ensured that Boston emerged victorious with his huge late strike, and the Bruins earned the extra point in the shootout for a much-needed victory.
"I think that's what we told our players before the game, that it would be a shame if we wasted all that good effort in the last two days and not come out with the same thing this afternoon," Julien said. "I liked our game. No matter what the score was, the game was a good one from our end."
It was a lot better for the Bruins with the score finishing in their favor.
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