Tommy Novak made it 2-0 at 16:55 of the second period after rebounding a backhand attempt from Evangelista. The goal came shortly after a four-minute power play for Nashville.

Gustav Nyquist made it 3-0 at 12:47 of the third period with a 2-on-1 duel with Filip Forsberg off a pass from O’Reilly.

“Looked a lot better,” Nyquist said. “Of course there are still things we can improve on, but at least it is a very big step in the right direction. But the same applies here: we have to keep building. Obviously this is just a game. We dug ourselves a little hole here at the beginning, so we’ll do it again on Friday.”

Evangelista scored an unanswered goal at 13:56 to make the final score 4-0.

“Just keep working,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said of his message to the team after the game. “We cannot defeat ourselves. It’s a long season. We have to keep grinding. We have to get better and better every day.”

NOTES: Bruins forward Max Jones entered the lineup in place of Justin Brazeau. Jones finished the game with two minor penalties and zero shots on goal in 11:14 minutes of ice time. … Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux made his NHL debut. A first-round pick (No. 27) in the 2021 NHL Draft, L’Heureux finished with a shot on goal in 9:59 of ice time.