The Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins NHL teams held a moment of silence ahead of Tuesday’s game in memory of those murdered in a Christian grade school by a transgender activist on Monday.
The two NHL teams took to the ice and stood united during the moment of silence at TD Garden arena, Fox News reported.
“The Bruins stand alongside the Nashville Predators in solidarity against gun violence and its support of the Nashville community,” the announcer told the crowd that night.
After the game, Nashville defenseman Ryan McDonagh told the media that the team felt a duty to try and uplift the community after the senseless crime.
“We felt like we needed to go out and do our job the best we could and sacrifice and leave it all out there and just try to maybe bring a little bit of inspiration to the city of Nashville,” McDonagh said.
McDonagh also stayed home in Nashville on Monday to be with his family in the aftermath of the crime. He joined the team the next day, just ahead of the game.
“Quite frankly there are really no words that you can say after what went on yesterday in Nashville,” adding, “Just a tragedy for those families and everybody affected. You don’t really realize it until you have kids of your own and the perspective. It hits you.”
“It’s something we talked with our guys about, that we’re on a platform here as professional athletes and coaches,” Predators head coach John Hynes added. “The city of Nashville means a lot to these people. We wanted to put an effort for the first responders, for the people that were involved in the incident – the families, the school. We’re just really proud of the guys.”
The Predators beat the Bruins 2-1.
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