The victims of Monday’s deadly school shooting were honored on Tuesday as the Nashville Predators visited the Boston Bruins.
Three students and three adults died at The Covenant School after 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a biological woman who identified as a transgender man, entered the school with two assault-type guns and a 9-millimeter pistol.
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Their loss was honored with a moment of silence organized by the Bruins, and both teams wore helmet stickers to show respect to those who lost their lives.
“Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday, three young students and three faculty members at The Covenant School in Nashville tragically lost their lives in a senseless act of violence,” the Bruins public announcer said before the game.
“In the wake of this unthinkable tragedy, the Boston Bruins stand alongside the Nashville Predators in solidarity against gun violence and in support of the Nashville community.”
Nashville defeated Boston 2-1, and Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh said Tuesday night was more than just a regular game.
“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,” he said.
McDonagh had arrived late to Boston after he stayed in Nashville to be with his young children, at least one of whose schools went into lockdown because of the shooting, according to a report.
“It’s not really the first shooting, unfortunately. When you have kids and it happens close to home, it hits definitely different,” he said. “Like any parent, you do anything you can to help your family and kids out.”
“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.”
Predators head coach John Hynes echoed McDonagh’s sentiment.
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“It’s something we talked with our guys about, that we’re on a platform here as professional athletes and coaches,” he said. “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.”
“Sometimes when things are tough in life — part of sports, it is for the players and people involved with it, but I think for the fans, that it’s an opportunity to take a few hours and maybe get away from a few things in your life. That was the message that we took into the game.”
