Steven Stamkos had himself a milestone night in Boston.
The Nashville forward recorded a goal and two helpers - including the 600th assist of his career - and the Predators defeated the Boston Bruins by a 6-3 final on Tuesday night at TD Garden. The result gives the Preds a victory to conclude their three-game trip and a sweep of the two-game season series between the clubs.
Ryan O’Reilly tallied twice, while Tommy Novak, Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Jankowski also potted goals for the Preds, and Juuse Saros made 18 saves in net to help secure the win.
“[It was a] much, much better effort,” Stamkos said. “We tried to focus on the start of the game… We've been getting behind the eight ball a little bit, whether it's giving up chances early or taking penalties early, it just throws you off for the rest of the game. So, we focused on that. We saw everyone committed to that in the first [period]. We had a really good first period, and we didn't get down after giving up some goals. We had good responses, so that's a good sign to build off of. We knew that was a desperate team over there. They're battling for their playoff lives, so to have that type of effort was great.”
“It's nice to score some goals,” O’Reilly said. “It’s a lot more fun when pucks are going in the net… It was a good win. Anytime you can score five or six goals against a team, I think everyone feels better about themselves. I know I do. I thought the line and playing [with Stamkos] was outstanding tonight. And [Luke Evangelista] too was making some great plays and doing a lot of great things. He kind of had some fun out there tonight.”
Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette wanted to see a better start from the Predators, and although Boston scored the game’s first goal, the visitors were ready to go.
Charlie Coyle put the Bruins up early, but the Preds responded quickly with a goal from Novak in the slot off a turnover. Then, the new line with Stamkos and Evangelista put together a pretty passing play, and O’Reilly finished it off by beating Jeremy Swayman to put the Predators up 2-1 after 20 minutes.
The Bruins evened the score early in the second stanza, but the Predators answered once more as O’Reilly found Stamkos in the left faceoff circle, and No. 91 hammered a one-timer into the cage for his 573rd career goal and a 3-2 Nashville advantage.
“Obviously, [Stamkos is] one of the best players in the game and what he's done, and to be a part of it's always fun,” O’Reilly said. “And he was outstanding tonight… It’s always cool to be a part of things like that.”
Once again, Boston tied the game early in the final frame, but then the Preds went back to work. First, Filip Forsberg made a nifty move to find Michael McCarron in tight, and the 6-foot-6 centerman made a slick backhand dish to Marchessault who put the Predators ahead once more.
Then, just over a minute later, Stamkos came streaking down the right wing and made a beautiful cross-ice pass to O’Reilly, who deposited his second goal of the night to give Stamkos his 600th assist, just the second player from the 2008 NHL Draft class to accomplish the feat.
“It's special,” Stamkos said. “Anytime you get to round numbers in the NHL, it's good. So obviously, I’ve been blessed to play with so many great players throughout my career. I think that's a testament to them, especially when you're getting assists. Guys have to finish and score. So tonight was great. It was nice to do it. Like I said, in a way, anytime you can do something like that, in a win, you feel much better about yourself.”
“I thought he was great,” Brunette said of Stamkos. “Thought he looked refreshed. And I thought he played with joy. He's had a little bit of a hard time of late, and he's put so much pressure on himself, so it was nice to see him breathe a little bit. And I thought it was one of his best games of the year.”
Jankowski added one more into an empty net before the night was done with all four new-look lines seemingly finding chemistry right from the start.
“I thought all four lines were going pretty good,” Brunette said. “And I think with [O’Reilly], he's kind of the heartbeat of the team, and he just kind of took over the game for us, and him and [Evangelista] and [Stamkos] were great. But I think every line contributed, and every line brought it tonight.”
The first two outings of their three-game trip didn’t go as planned, but for the Preds to finish off a northeastern excursion in this manner? It’s certainly satisfying, and they’ll try to keep that feeling going back home in Nashville.
“It feels really good,” Brunette said. “We haven't had too many great feelings, especially on the road. Hopefully we can grab this one and build it and try to find some joy on Thursday and continue through the process of enjoying the game a little bit. We've put so much pressure on ourselves all year, so a night like tonight feels good. Get some rest, and we've got an opportunity on Thursday to feel even a little bit better about ourselves.”
Notes:
Predators forward Mark Jankowski returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing four games due to injury. Forward Jake Lucchini and defenseman Justin Barron were healthy scratches against the Bruins.
Per NHL Stats, Steven Stamkos (1g-2a) factored on half of Nashville’s six goals and reached the 600-assist milestone. He recorded his 105th career three-point game, which is the sixth-most by an active player behind Sidney Crosby (185), Alex Ovechkin (138), Connor McDavid (133), Evgeni Malkin (117) and Patrick Kane (110).
Juuse Saros won his 196th career game and tied Niklas Backstrom for the sixth-most by a Finnish-born goalie. Only Pekka Rinne (369), Miikka Kiprusoff (319), Kari Lehtonen (310), Tuukka Rask (308) and Antti Niemi (242) have more.
The Preds will now return home to host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night before the Chicago Blackhawks come to town on Saturday.
