The Columbus Blue Jackets (23-43-7) head to face the Boston Bruins (57-12-5) at TD Garden on Thursday. Columbus is coming off a high-scoring 6-2 loss against the Rangers on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets committed only two penalties in the game, yet still conceded a power play goal.
Johnny Gaudreau and Kirill Marchenko each scored once for the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Michael Hutchinson saved only 30 of 35 shots against (.857%) in the loss.Boston fell 2-1 to the Predators on Tuesday. David Pastrnak was the only player to score for the Bruins. Linus Ullmark saved 21 of 22 shots (.954%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Bruins have won both games between the teams this season, including a 4-2 victory in their most recent meeting in December, their fifth straight win against Columbus. Pastrnak, David Krejci, and Taylor Hall each had two points (1G 1A) to lead Boston.
Patrik Laine (1G 1A) and Gaudreau (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Columbus. Jeremy Swayman got the win, saving 31 of 33 shots (.939%).
FACING OFF
Columbus is averaging just 2.70 goals per game for the season, 29th in the NHL. The visitors will face a difficult test against a Bruins team that is allowing only 2.11 goals a game (1st).
Meanwhile, Boston has found the net 3.69 times a game on average, second in the league, and will be looking to exploit the Blue Jackets’ weak defense, which is allowing opponents to score 3.97 goals per game (31st).
The Bruins’ 21.57% power play percentage ranks 15th in the league, while the Blue Jackets are 24th with a conversion rate of 19.07%. Boston has been more adept at penalty killing, boasting the league’s highest PK% at 86.17%. Columbus ranks 22nd at 75.59%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 69 points this season, Gaudreau is the top skater for the Blue Jackets. He has 19 goals and 50 assists in 71 games. In the net, Joonas Korpisalo (15-12-4) is Columbus’ top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.92 GAA and a .914% save percentage. Elvis Merzlikins (7-18-2) leads the Blue Jackets in games played in goal.
He has a GAA of 4.23 and a save percentage of .876%.Pastrnak leads the Bruins in scoring with 98 points (4th in the league). He has 52 goals (2nd in the league) and 46 assists in 74 games. Ullmark (36-6-1) has the best goals against average for Boston at 1.90, best in the league. He has a save percentage of .937%, also best.
HOME AND AWAY
Columbus is 9-23-5 on the road this season. Boston is 30-4-3 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Over 6.5 (-125)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
