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If there’s one thing to be happy about, even after a game in which the Bruins lost with just :00.9 seconds left in overtime, it’s the four-game point streak that the Bruins are currently carrying into Columbus for tonight’s head-to-head meeting with the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
The 2-0-2 record over that span actually means a ton to these Bruins, who are still looking for their first winning streak of the season nine games into the season, and with just their second game against an Eastern Conference opponent coming tonight. In other words, this is when things get real.
Tuukka Rask gets the call in net for the Bruins. In his first start since returning from a concussion, Rask was fantastic in Saturday’s overtime loss, with stops on 28 of 30 shots faced and excellent puck-tracking to go along with several key stops late in the third period and overtime.
Rask carries a 7-3-0 record and .920 save percentage in 11 career games against the Jackets.
Columbus counters with Sergei Bobrovsky. While ‘Bob’ enters play with terrible career numbers against the Bruins (1-4-2 record with a .904 save percentage), and beat the Bruins for just the first time in his NHL career last season, he has downright stellar once again this year, with a 6-2-0 record and .938 save percentage on the year, and stopped 29-of-30 in a win over the Jets last Friday.
The Bruins will roll with the same lineup as Saturday, which means that Matt Beleskey is a healthy scratch yet again. Just how Beleskey works his way back into the lineup remains a puzzling thought.
Anton Khudobin did not travel to Columbus with the team after suffering a minor lower-body injury in Sunday’s optional practice at Warrior Ice Arena, which means that Zane McIntyre will be Rask’s backup this evening. Cassidy called the Khudobin issue minor and a “split-second decision.…
The Bruins went 2-1-0 against the Blue Jackets last season, outscoring them 14-to-9.
Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.