Nashville adds to the best start in its history at first-place Boston’s expense.

BOSTON (AP) – Here’s a change for the Nashville Predators: For the first time in their six-year history, they will enter December with at least a .500 record.

“We’ve found a way to get some road wins and our special teams have been a lot better,” Greg Johnson said. “Now we’re enjoying our success and feeding off of it.”

Their latest success came Friday, a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Johnson’s power-play goal midway through the first period.

The Predators (11-10-1-0) have won three straight and seven of their last nine. With 24 points in 22 games, the Predators are off to their best start.

Nashville beat a strong Boston team that leads the Northeast Division but has lost three in a row.

Johnson gave Nashville the lead for good 13:14 into the first period with a goal with one second left on a power play.

Andrew Raycroft stopped Rem Murray’s wraparound, but Johnson put the loose puck in the net for his sixth goal of the season.

Joe Thornton scored for the Bruins with his fifth goal of the season, 6:26 into the first period.

The lead was short-lived, however. David Legwand tied it 75 seconds later with his fifth of the year, beating Raycroft off a feed from Adam Hall.

The Bruins outshot Nashville 27-18 in the final two periods, but failed to convert on four power-play chances after the first.

“We were able to withstand their big storms, and in the end we were able to hang on,” Predators coach Barry Trotz said.

Boston, ranked 28th in the NHL on the penalty kill and last killing penalties at home, held the Predators to one goal on seven power-play chances.

The Bruins’ three-game skid is their longest this year.

It comes at about the same time as last season, when the Bruins started 19-4-3-1 but ended up seventh in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s tough when you have to kill (penalties) that much,” Boston’s Brian Rolston said. “You have a lot of penalties and it takes a lot out of you.”

Tomas Vokoun made 32 saves for Nashville. Raycroft stopped 27 of 29 shots for Boston, including a breakaway from Legwand with 1:21 left in the third.

“For us it’s a building block,” Trotz said. “We do two things really well – we have good team speed and we work our butts off most nights.”

Notes: Last season Nashville won just three of its first 22 games. … Bruins left wing P.J. Axelsson returned to the lineup for the first time since a shoulder injury Nov. 20 against Washington. … Nashville’s top two defensemen, Kimmo Timonen and Marek Zidlicky, have combined for 30 points this season, the best total by any pair of defensemen in the NHL. … Boston’s four overtime losses are the most by an Eastern Conference team. Anaheim leads the NHL with five.