The Boston Bruins were supposed to fly home from New York right after Monday night's overtime loss to the Rangers. That didn't happen. Their flight, like so many others in the Northeast the last few days, got canceled because of the winter storm that has bombarded the region.
With a more favorable schedule, the Bruins could have just hunkered down in Manhattan and waited to fly sometime later in the day Tuesday. Unfortunately for them, they had another game to play back in Boston Tuesday night.
So, they returned home the old-fashioned way: on a bus. The Bruins loaded in Tuesday morning in New York City and got back to their cars at Hanscom Field in Bedford around 1:30 p.m., less than six hours from puck drop against the Nashville Predators.
"It's been a while," David Pastrnak said of the long bus ride. "More like Europe. Back when I played in Sweden, there was long rides always like this."
It wasn't the most energetic bus ride, Bruins players admitted. No team movie or raucous card game. They were too tired, so this bus ride skewed quieter as guys tried to sneak in a nap or two.
The team's staff back in Boston also adjusted their plans. Skills coach John McLean shoveled out cars at Hanscom. The team's chefs also went out to Bedford to make sure players got a good meal once they finally did get back. Then the players went home for a couple hours before heading to TD Garden for Night 2 of their back-to-back.
Fortunately for the Bruins, their play Tuesday night was at least a little more energetic than their bus ride. They built up a 2-0 lead, let it slip away, but then recovered in time to pull out a 3-2 overtime victory against the Predators, their 11th win in the last 14 games.
Here are three more takeaways from Tuesday's win:
Pastrnak and Geekie stay hot
Need offense? These are the two guys you're turning to if you're the Bruins. And David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie just keep producing. They combined for Boston's second goal in this one, and then Pastrnak scored the overtime winner, driving to the net to finish off a nice feed from Charlie McAvoy.
Early in the second period, Pastrnak made a strong play to protect the puck at the offensive blue line before dishing it down to Geekie, who took it to the net and finished with a bardown snipe.
It was Geekie's 30th goal of the season and fifth goal in the last five games. That's now back-to-back 30-goal campaigns for Geekie, who could match his career high of 33 before the Olympic break at this rate. He is the fourth player league-wide to hit the 30 mark this season, joining Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Jason Robertson.
Pastrnak, meanwhile, now has an eight-game point streak. He also has 28 points in the last 14 games, with 21 of those being assists. After being on different lines for much of January, Bruins coach Marco Sturm has reunited Pastrnak and Geekie for the last three games. It's paid off, with the Bruins outscoring opponents 4-1 during their 5-on-5 shifts.
Hampus Lindholm celebrates Olympic nod with goal
While the Bruins were on their bus ride back from New York, news broke that defenseman Hampus Lindholm had been named to Sweden's Olympic team as an injury replacement for Minnesota's Jonas Brodin.
Lindholm had actually gotten the phone call on Monday, but he got to celebrate properly on Tuesday when he opened the scoring 13:16 into the game, wristing a shot through traffic from the point for his fourth goal of the season.
Lindholm seemed to have a bit more jump than many of his teammates Tuesday, as he was active in transition and in the offensive zone, and found another gear skating-wise on a few occasions. Maybe that's the kind of boost you get when you achieve a lifelong dream.
It was disappointing for Lindholm to not make Team Sweden initially, but it was also understandable given how much time he has missed due to injury in the last two seasons – including missing the 4 Nations Face-Off last year due to his season-ending fractured kneecap. But now Lindholm, a 13-year veteran, will indeed get the opportunity to play in his first Olympics.
Elias Lindholm leaves with injury
While it was a great day for one Lindholm, it was a rough one for the other. Elias Lindholm left Tuesday's game late in the second period and did not return. He appeared to tweak something while taking a faceoff, as he dropped to a knee and was seen wincing as he got up and went to the bench. Lindholm was later ruled out with an upper-body injury.
Sturm did not have any update on Lindholm after the game, saying only that he would undergo further testing on Wednesday.
Elias Lindholm, like Hampus, is slated to play for Sweden in his first Olympics in a couple weeks. If this injury proves to be something more than day-to-day, it may cost the 31-year-old center his only Olympic opportunity, which would obviously be a major bummer.
The Bruins, meanwhile, have three games left before the break. If Lindholm misses time, it could mean Fraser Minten moves up in the lineup and/or Marat Khusnutdinov slides from wing to center. The Bruins could potentially call a forward up from Providence, although they do have 12 other healthy forwards on the NHL roster at the moment.