BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins (31-20-3) won their eighth-straight home game, knocking off the Nashville Predators (24-23-5) 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday night inside TD Garden. David Pastrnak scored the overtime winner.
The Bruins are a perfect 8-0-0 inside TD Garden since 2026 began, with the first seven all coming in regulation.
The game itself was far from perfect. The Predators surged back from a 2-0 deficit to force overtime and carried play the back half of the game, but the Bruins found a way.
On the second half of a back-to-back, with a cancelled flight and an early-morning bus ride, the Bruins couldn't have possibly had their A-game, but they won anyway.
The Bruins remain in playoff position and continue to put distance between themselves and the large swath of the pack at large. They're now six points up on the Florida Panthers (who have two games in hand).
Morgan Geekie scored again, his fifth goal in the last five games. Hampus Lindholm, on the day he was named an Olympian for Sweden, tallied as well.
Jeremy Swayman won with another sparkling performance, stopping 28 in the victory. Of those 28, 22 came in the second and third periods, when Nashville began to take over the game during their comeback.
Now, onto the bad news.
Elias Lindholm suffered an upper-body injury and did not return for the Bruins. It's a big blow, and something they just can't afford to have right now.
Postgame, Bruins' Head Coach Marco Sturm said Lindholm will undergo testing, and they'll know more tomorrow. Fraser Minten slid up to line one tonight, but it could end up being Marat Khusnutdinov come Thursday night.
With the condensed schedule and how well Lindholm's been playing, it's a tough pill for the Bruins to swallow.
Fraser Minten stepped into the top-line center duties when Lindholm went down. Minten, who had an assist tonight, has 13 points in his last 14 games.
It'll be a gigantic opportunity for the youngster.
The game was one of the quietest of the year, with tons of low-event hockey packed into this one.
Hampus Lindholm's goal broke the ice in the first period.
That period featured three penalties, with Boston's man advantage coming up empty twice, while the kill was effective.
In the second period, Morgan Geekie doubled the lead less than three minutes into the frame:
The goal is one of Geekie's best of the year from a pure skill standpoint. What an absolutely ridiculous shot, a pure snipe from close range.
Shots don't come any purer than that.
Boston then ran into penalty trouble. They took three minors in the period, killing off the first two.
Then, with just 1:04 to go in the second, came the third. David Pastrnak hacked Roman Josi for a slash.
Josi made him pay with a one-timed bomb, where Swayman had absolutely no chance. The goal came with under 35 seconds to go in the period.
Still, the Bruins felt good even without Elias Lindholm, who exited in the second period.
After all, Boston entered tonight 24-0-2 when leading after two periods. That figure now reads 25-0-2, but it did get dicey today.
The Predators dominated the third, outshooting Boston 11-6. Nick Blankenburg ripped a wrister through a screen and past Swayman to tie the game with 6:43 to go. The goal came during 4v4 hockey, due to Mikey Eyssimont's roughing exchange with Michael Bunting.
The Bruins held on for overtime, and needed just 15 seconds for Charlie McAvoy to make a play to Pastrnak, who netted the winner.
Next up for the Bruins is a big game against the 10th-placed Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers play in Columbus tomorrow night, so it should be a big opportunity to pop them and score a regulation win and further distance themselves from the pack.
That game takes place in TD Garden, with puck drop set for just after 7 p.m.