BOSTON — On Tuesday afternoon, Bruins’ GM Don Sweeney completed a trade ahead of the deadline as a bona fide seller, dishing Trent Frederic and Max Jones for draft picks and a prospect.

On Tuesday night, the remaining Bruins responded with a performance that carried a distinct playing-out-the-string vibe.

That’s not to say there wasn’t any want-to in the B’s game. But with Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm not walking through that door any time soon because of injury and possibly another player or two headed out the door before Friday’s deadline, the B’s seemed to be in no frame of mind to beat the Nashville Predators, who came onto Causeways Street mired in 30th place in the overall NHL standings.

The Preds scored two goals in 63 seconds in the third period to finally leave the B’s behind, taking a 6-3 decision at TD Garden.

In the opening 20 minutes, the Bruins made the Predators look like the team Nashville GM Barry Trotz thought he had assembled last summer when he sunk big money into free agents Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei and Jonathan Marchessault.

They were all over the B’s, outshooting them 15-5 in the first and taking a 2-1 lead that could have been worse for the home team.

But the B’s took the first lead of the game off a Nashville gaffe. Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney coughed up the puck to Elias Lindholm below the goal line and Lindholm tried to stuff it home but Juuse Saros made the initial save. The puck, however, went right to Charlie Coyle, who deposited his 15th goal of the season from the top of the crease.

The B’s, however, were more than willing to commit their own faux pas just 1:07 later. Pavel Zacha had control of the puck and he wheeled into the defensive slot, attempting to gain some steam for a breakout. But the puck simply slid off his stick and right to Tommy Novak, who beat Jeremy Swayman to tie it up.

The Preds took the lead at 11:33 when, off the rush, Luke Evangelista fed Ryan O’Reilly, who had a gaping cage at which to shoot.

The B’s had the only power play of the period and they didn’t land a shot.

There was more evidence of life at the start of the second period and the B’s tied it up on an excuse-me goal from Jordan Oesterle. The little-used defenseman threw a puck toward the slot that O’Reilly tried to intercept, instead directing it past Saros to make it 2-2 at 5:08, Oesterle’s first of the year.

But a Bruin goal in 20245-25 season often means an opposition tally is coming soon. And sure enough, seconds after Garden PA man Jake Zimmer announced the Oesterle goal, Nashville regained the lead. O’Reilly won a puck along the right boards and made a nice cross-ice feed to Stamkos for his first goal since January 23 (he’d not had a point in 13 games until he assisted on O’Reilly’s goal earlier in the game).

As disjointed as their performance was, the B’s did not throw in the towel, tying the game on Morgan Geekie’s 20th goal at 5:35 of the third.

Again, the tie didn’t last long. The Preds regained the lead at 8:28 when Nashville’s forwards made it look easy against third pair D-men Oesterle and Parker Wotherspoon, with Michael McCarron feeding Marchessault on the slot to make it, 4-3. That one finally broke the B’s.

O’Reilly then added the insurance goal at 9:29, bunting home a Stamkos aerial feed. Mark Jankowski added an empty netter to finish off the scoring.

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