Tonight's Officials
Referees Kelly Sutherland (11), Jean Hebert (15)
Linesmen Pierre Racicot (65), Tony Sericolo (84)
Ntl. Anthem Leo Welsh
TONIGHT’S GAME - The Bruins visit the Blue Jackets tonight in the 1st of 3 games between these teams this season and the 1st of 2 games this season at Nationwide Arena … The Bruins are 42-18-9 this season and are 15-11-6 on the road … They are 8-8-2 vs. Metropolitan Division opponents and are 23-14-4 vs. Eastern Conference foes. - The Bruins play game 2 of a 3-game road trip tonight (0-1-0), concluding in WPG (3/14) … They are playing game 2 of a stretch that sees them play 7 of 8 games on the road with their lone home game in that span 3/16 vs CMB. - They are playing tonight game 3 of their 15th of 17 sets of 3-games-in-4-nights … They are 8-6-1 in game 1s, 11-2-2 in game 2s and 8-4-2 in game 3s of those series this season.
MILESTONES APPROACHING - Zdeno Chara is 1 goal short of his 200th NHL goal … He will become just the 22nd defenseman in NHL history to reach that milestone & 2nd active (Shea Weber). - Torey Krug is 1 point shy of his 284th career point, which will move him past Craig Janney for the most points in team history by a U.S.-born Bruin. - Patrice Bergeron is 3 points shy of his 800th NHL point.
INJURIES (Total man-games lost in 2018-19: 198) - Jake DeBrusk – Lower body - Matt Grzelcyk – Upper body - Marcus Johansson – Lung contusion - Kevan Miller – Upper body - David Pastrnak – 2/12 left thumb surgery
BOSTON vs COLUMBUS, LIFETIME SERIES - The Bruins and Blue Jackets are meeting for the 28th time in their histories with the Bruins having a 16-7-0-4 record and 93-71 scoring advantage in those games. - The Bruins are 8-3-0-3 lifetime in Columbus with a 43-37 scoring edge in those 14 contests. - The Bruins have taken points out of their last 3 games vs. the Blue Jackets at 1-0-2 with their last regulation loss to Columbus a 4-3 road setback on 12/27/2016 … They are 12-4-2 in their last 18 overall vs. the Blue Jackets & are 5-2-1 in their last 8 visits to Columbus.
For the first time in nearly two months, the Boston Bruins must bounce back from a regulation defeat.
They'll get that chance Tuesday night, when they visit a Columbus Blue Jackets team fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Boston's stellar 15-0-4 stretch ended with Sunday's 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh, but the hosts needed an empty-netter to secure the result. It was the Bruins' first regulation defeat since Jan. 19, at home to the New York Rangers.
In the end, the Bruins outscored their opponents 62-41 during a 19-game point streak that's the second-longest in team history.
"I think we can be proud of that, but not satisfied," defenseman John Moore told the Bruins' official website. "There's no reason we can't get right back to work on Tuesday.
"That's the special part about this group, is guys really push each other and we expected a lot of each other. We'll be ready to go on Tuesday."
Second in the Atlantic Division, Boston hasn't lost back-to-back games since an 0-1-2 slide from Jan. 19-31. It last dropped two straight in regulation on Dec. 23 and 27.
The Bruins will try to get back on track while minus key defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (arm), who was injured Sunday. They're also unsure if forward Jake DeBrusk will miss a fourth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. The club remains without star winger David Pastrnak (thumb), who could be back this weekend when it returns from this three-game trip.
After Jaroslav Halak made 33 saves against the Penguins, Tuukka Rask could be in net trying for his fifth straight win. Rask is 16-0-3 with a 1.94 goals-against average during a 20-start stretch in which he's earned a decision in all but one game.
In an interesting scheduling quirk, this is the first meeting of the season between the Bruins and Blue Jackets. The teams will play again Saturday at Boston and back in Columbus on April 2.
The Blue Jackets have won three of the last four meetings against the Bruins, who earned four points during that stretch. However, while Boston is sitting comfortably in playoff position in the East, Columbus has work to do to remain in the postseason picture.
Columbus returns home after falling 2-0 to the New York Islanders on Monday. The Blue Jackets outshot the Islanders 31-20, but were blanked for the third time in six games in March, going 2-4-0.
"We just need to score," Columbus captain Nick Foligno said. "We've just got to find a way to get the puck in the net. ... We've got to get some run support for our goalie."
Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all but one of the 19 shots he faced, and he could again get the call in this back-to-back since backup Joonas Korpisalo has lost four consecutive starts. Bobrovsky owns an 0.99 goals-against average and .962 save percentage in his last three starts.
There's uncertainty about the availability of Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner, who missed Monday's contest with an illness. Jenner has two goals with an assist in his last three games against the Bruins.
Boston's David Krejci has a goal in four straight contests. He has two with seven assists during a seven-game point streak versus Columbus.
The Blue Jackets are 4-8-0 at home since a four-game winning streak there from Dec. 31-Jan. 15.
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