The 2025-26 NHL season is an odd one in terms of scheduling. The league is taking a break for the Olympics next month, which forced the league to play a compact schedule this season. Like other teams around the NHL, the Boston Bruins are playing a brutal amount of games in a short stretch.
One of those brutal stretches is this week. After beating the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3, on Saturday night at the TD Garden with two third-period goals, they were forced to board a plane and head to New York ahead of Fern, the massive storm that wreaked havoc all over the United States. They weren't playing until Monday night against the New York Rangers, which meant an extra day in the Big Apple.
Boston ended up suffering a brutal 4-3 overtime loss to the Rangers, but had a quick turnaround, having to fly back home after the game to get ready to play the Nashville Predators at the TD Garden on Tuesday night. The Preds, meanwhile, had not played since Saturday afternoon and were in Boston since late Saturday night, ahead of the storm.
While they were resting, the Black and Gold had travel problems that led to insane travel. Their flight out of New York was canceled, and they had to bus back from New York to Boston on Tuesday. That's right, they had to ride a bus back to Boston, got back at 1:30 p.m., and had to play Nashville five and a half hours later at home.
What a recipe for disaster.
Instead, the Bruins built a 2-0 lead, watched as the Predators tied the game in the third period, before David Pastrnak ended the game 15 seconds into overtime for a 3-2 win, and it capped off an insane 24 hours.
Bruins pick up win despite travel troubles
It would have been easy for the Black and Gold to show up and lay an egg against Nashville after an overtime loss and a bus ride back from New York on the day of a game. Instead, they stuck together and grinded out a win for two huge points in the standings.
“Yeah, it was not ideal, obviously. It was a long day,” said Pastrnak. “Yeah, it was tough, but that’s what makes the win special, the way we grinded it out and did it together as a group. I think it’s very impressive for the group getting the win like this with a hard, long day and the travel.”
This is a win that could be big later in the season.