{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Boston 5, Nashville 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees: Chris Rooney, Ghislain Hebert
Linesmen: Tony Sericolo, Brian Murphy
Attendance: 17565

Bruins 5, Predators 3: Brad Marchand and Loui Eriksson scored two goals apiece as Boston outlasted visiting Nashville to win back-to-back games for the first time in more than a month.

David Krejci netted a power-play goal and Patrice Bergeron collected three assists as the Bruins won their first home game in regulation since Nov. 18. Chris Kelly set up a pair of tallies and Tuukka Rask turned aside 22 shots to give Boston consecutive victories for the first time since a three-game winning streak from Nov. 15-21.

Rookie Calle Jarnkrok and Taylor Beck each recorded a goal and an assist while Colin Wilson also scored for the Predators, who had their three-game winning streak that started with a victory over the Bruins on Dec. 16 come to an end. Carter Hutton made 20 saves to remain winless (0-3-1) on the season.

Eriksson, who has six goals in his last eight games, put the Bruins ahead to stay just before the six-minute mark of the second period, sending a cross-ice pass to defenseman Matt Bartkowski and burying the return feed. A wide-open Marchand collected a carom off Bergeron and converted from in front of the left post five minutes later, but Beck's wrist shot beat Rask on the short side 6:48 into the third to cut the deficit to 4-3 before Eriksson scored into an empty net.

Marchand opened the scoring two minutes into the contest, finishing a give-and-go with Bergeron before Wilson tied it 5 1/2 minutes later, cutting across the crease and lifting a backhander over Rask. Krejci ripped a shot from beyond the left faceoff circle into the top right corner of the net midway through the session, but Jarnkrok's soft wrister got past Rask less than two minutes later for the equalizer.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Marchand became the first Boston player to reach 10 goals while Krejci scored his first since Oct. 25, although he was playing in only his eighth game in that time. ... Jarnkrok scored his fourth goal of the season, but three have come in his last six games. ... Krejci's goal was the third power-play tally in 32 chances for the Bruins.
Top Game Performances
 
Nashville   Boston
Taylor Beck 2 Points Patrice Bergeron 3
Taylor Beck 1 Goals Loui Eriksson 2
Mattias Ekholm 2 Assists Patrice Bergeron 3
N/A Power Play Goals David Krejci 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Carter Hutton .833 Save Percentage Tuukka Rask .880
Carter Hutton 20 Saves Tuukka Rask 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Nashville 25 3 0-2 3-4 18 24
Boston 25 5 1-4 2-2 4 40
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Bruins have a W/L % of .471 after a win and .556 after a loss.
  • Nashville will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Predators have a W/L % of .500 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.