Patrice Bergeron returned to the lineup after missing 16 games with an injury Saturday afternoon, scoring two goals including his 300th of his career as the Boston Bruins took down the Nashville Predators 5-2 at TD Garden.
Bergeron opened the scoring at 15:10 of the opening period with his 10th of the year. Ryan Johansen tied it for Nashville (22-13-2) at 13:01 of the second. Bergeron picked up a loose puck in front of the Predators net to give Boston (20-12-4) back the lead on the powerplay at 1:44 of the third for his 300th in his 983rd career game. Nashville once again tied it when Kyle Turris scored 7:33 later. Brad Marchand got the game winner on the powerplay at 11:23 to make it 3-2. David Pastrnak scored on a one timer from Marchand at 14:09, and then Sean Kuraly put the game on ice with an empty netter at 18:01.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 28 shots for the win in the Bruins net. Pekka Rinne made 27 saves in the loss for the Predators. Nashville has now lost four games in a row, but still remains tied for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Preds now have also lost 10 straight road games. Bergeron added two assists for a four point day, and became the sixth player in Bruins history to score at least 300 goals. Marchand and Pastrnak each had three points with a goal and two assists a piece, while Charlie McAvoy also added two assists. Boston has won three games in a row, and will try to extend it to four when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes at Raleigh, North Carolina Sunday at 5 pm.
