The Boston Bruins are in Columbus as they face the Blue Jackets for Game 3 of the Second Round of the NHL Playoffs tonight. Boston will be looking to redeem themselves after a loss in a second overtime in Game 2 that was played at the TD Garden. With the Bruins and the Jackets deadlocked 2-2, a penalty call on Patrice Bergeron in the second overtime lead to a power-play goal, with the Jackets winning 3-2.
TOP LINE WOES
Columbus’s Matt Duchene had the winning power-play goal Saturday night. Boston’s special team were roughed up as the Blue Jackets capitalized on penalties called against the Bruins. While much of the media narrative has focused on David Pastrnak’s lack of scoring, the team itself has had to shuffle things around as the top two lines have struggled a bit in the post-season. Pastrnak had a goal attributed to him after a shot deflected off his skate; he had four shots in Game 2. The Bruins will need to continue to come out with more physicality as seen in Games 1-2. Zdeno Chara, Connor Clifton, and Sean Kuraly all had hits Saturday night.
REST FOR THE WEARY
Despite the loss on Saturday, the Boston Bruins team has had a chance to rest after playing a tough Toronto series only to face a fully rested Columbus team a day after winning Game 7. After playing two overtime games against Columbus, Boston will be looking to get their re-charged legs back on the ice.
“It came at a good time for us to get the two days between games. We had a seven-game series, obviously high intensity, back and forth. It takes an emotional toll as well. Most seven-game series do, but the way we had to come back and then get right into it. I think we fed off that first night…but I think mentally we made some mistakes (Game 2) that we wouldn’t make if we were a little more fresh. That’s where it caught up to us, the seven games. I do believe that. We had some breakdown that typically we don’t do, especially on the PK on the last goal. We broke down. They made a good play, but we weren’t in the right spots and I think that’s part of it.”
Bruins Coach Bruce Cassidy
RETURNING HOME
Sean Kuraly will be returning to his home state of Ohio where he’ll face the Blue Jackets in post-season for the first time. A native of Dublin, Ohio, the 26-year-old will be looking to disappoint some Columbus fans tonight as he continues to grind out plays for the Black and Gold.
HEADING BACK TO COLUMBUS
Look for Columbus to continue to shift momentum as they return to their home rink. The Blue Jackets are hoping to improve their 5-on-5 as their last few goals have come from power-plays and 4-on-4 situations. The Boston Bruins recent focus in practice has been their power-play production, and will need to stay out of the box to lessen any opportunities for Columbus to score.
Here were the Bruins practice line-ups:
Coach Bruce Cassidy announced that Karson Kuhlman will be in the lineup with Chris Wagner out for tonight.
Here are the projected lines for Columbus:
Artemi Panarin – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Cam Atkinson
Ryan Dzingel – Matt Duchene – Josh Anderson
Alexandre Texier – Nick Foligno – Oliver Bjokstrand
Riley Nash – Booner Jenner – Brandon Dubinsky
Zach Werenski – Seth Jones
Markus Nutivaara – David Savard
Scott Harrington – Adam Clendening
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
WHEN TO WATCH: Tonight with puck drop at 7:00pm, at the Nationwide Arena
WHERE TO WATCH: NBCSN
