The Boston Bruins and the Columbus Blue Jackets meet in NHL action from the Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night. The home team has won both meetings so far this season, can Columbus make it three straight? Let’s find out with our Bruins vs. Blue Jackets Prediction.
Boston Bruins Team Preview
The Boston Bruins come into this one looking to build on their current three-game win streak after a 5-3 win over Detroit last time out. David Pastrnak leads the Bruins in scoring with 50 points including a team-high 22 goals and 28 assists while Brad Marchand has 33 points with 13 goals and 20 assists. Charlie Coyle has 26 points with 13 goals and 13 assists while Pavel Zacha has 22 points with 9 goals and 13 apples. Charlie McAvoy has 23 points with 20 assists and James van Riemsdyk has 22 points with 6 goals and 16 assists. Jeremy Swayman’s gone 11-2-4 with a 2.22 GAA and a .928 save percentage for the Bruins in goal while Linus Ullmark is 11-5-2 with a 2.82 GAA and a .916 save percentage this season.
Boston Bruins Team Facts
- The Bruins have won seven of their last eight games against the Blue Jackets.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in 15 of the Bruins’ last 16 games at Nationwide Arena.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Bruins’ last five games.
- The road team has won the first period in each of the Bruins’ last four games.
Columbus Blue Jackets Team Preview
The Columbus Blue Jackets come into this one looking to bounce back from a 3-2 OT loss to Buffalo last time out. Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in scoring with 25 points including a team-high 24 assists while Johnny Gaudreau has 25 points with 18 assists. Kirill Marchenko has 21 points with a team-high 13 goals and Adam Fantilli has 23 points with 11 goals and 12 assists. Ivan Provorov has 20 points with 18 assists and Boone Jenner has 18 points with 13 goals of his own. Elvis Merzlikins has gone 7-8-6 in goal for Columbus with a 3.25 GAA and a .907 save percentage while Spencer Martin is 3-7-1 with a 3.62 GAA and an .889 save percentage this season.
Columbus Blue Jackets Team Facts
- The Blue Jackets have lost each of their last 10 games against opponents on a winning streak.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in 15 of the last 16 games between the Bruins and Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
- The Blue Jackets have lost the third period in nine of their last 10 games as underdogs after coming off overtime.
- The ‘Over 2.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in three of the Blue Jackets’ last four home games against opponents on a winning streak.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Columbus Blue Jackets rank 30th in the league for goals against per game this season (3.66).
- The Columbus Blue Jackets rank 25th in the league in power play percentage this season (15.38%).
- The Boston Bruins rank 3rd in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (85.82%).
- The Boston Bruins rank 4th in the league in power play percentage this season (27.36%).
Bruins vs. Blue Jackets Prediction
I’m backing Boston -1.5 here. I get the case for Columbus having played so many close games as of late, but the problem I face here with that is that a lot of those games were against teams that have been known for having goaltending and defensive issues. That’s not a problem for this Bruins team that have both in spades and I just think this one is going to be a rough one for Columbus. Give me the Bruins -1.5 here.
