That they scratched out a point during a time when their game isn't at its peak level is quite precious for a team's mental well-being.
"You don't like to lose. Ever," said Blake Wheeler, who halved Nashville's 2-0 lead in the second period. "But we were down a goal with not much time left on the clock. To fight back, battle back, and get a point out of it is definitely encouraging. There's never really any moral victories. But it's better than coming up empty-handed."
Wheeler was the only Bruin to beat goalie Pekka Rinne (23 saves) during the shootout. Patrice Bergeron, P.J. Axelsson, and Phil Kessel missed their chances. At the other end, forwards Martin Erat and David Legwand roofed shots over Fernandez (29 saves) to give the Predators the two-point decision.
At 13:25 of the second period, just 61 seconds after Legwand scored his second goal (a shorthanded strike after tipping forward Jordin Tootoo's long-distance slapper past Fernandez in the first period), Wheeler put the Bruins on the board. After Vladimir Sobotka started the cycle, the winger fed David Krejci in the slot. The center broke his stick on a one-timer, but Wheeler was in the slot to tuck the rebound past Rinne.
"I think it gives our team a sigh of relief," said Wheeler. "We hadn't scored for 4 1/2 periods. So it definitely helps to put one in the net and get the sense that we can do it again. It just gives everybody more confidence, and we picked up our game from there."
The Bruins tied the score late in the third period with Fernandez pulled for an extra skater. Nashville's Jerred Smithson won a defensive-zone draw against Marc Savard, and defenseman Ryan Suter tried to clear the zone. But Dennis Wideman lifted his stick and got a piece of Suter's clearing attempt to keep the puck in the zone.
Zdeno Chara, playing forward during the six-on-five situation, clashed with Shea Weber down low and won the puck battle against the Nashville defenseman. Chara gave the puck to Bergeron, then went straight toward the crease. Bergeron curled behind the net, cut one way, read that Weber had closed off the lane, then darted in the other direction.
