David PastrnakPhoto Courtesy Of Boston.com

By: Garrett Haydon | Follow Me On Twitter @thesportsguy97

Pre-Game Notes

Arena: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Home: Columbus Blue Jackets (6-3)
Away: Boston Bruins (7-5)

Columbus’s Lineup

Forwards

Panarin-Dubois-Anderson
Dzingel-Duchene-Bjorkstrand
Foligno-Jenner-Atkinson
Texier-Dubinsky-Hannikainen

Defense

Werenski-Jones
Gavrikov-Savard
Harrington-Kukan

Goalies

Bobrovsky
Korpisalo

Boston’s Lineup

Forwards

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Krejci-Backes
Heinen-Coyle-Johansson
Nordstrom-Kuraly-Wagner

Defense

Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-Clifton

Goalies

Rask
Halak

First Period

Charlie McAvoy showed no ill effects in the opening minutes of the game after taking a puck off of the skate late in Game 5. Neither team got any prime scoring chances in the first minutes as they both seemed afraid to make any mistakes. Tuukka Rask had to make a few saves in close in the opening moments to keep it scoreless. Pierre-Luc Dubois was called for goaltender interference with under six minutes left in the period after a hard drive to the net. The Blue Jackets killed off the penalty as the Bruins failed to get any shots on goal. Sean Kuraly appeared to score immediately after but it was called back for goaltender interference after the challenge by Columbus.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The Blue Jackets seemed to get a jump after the challenge as they moved the puck with tremendous urgency. The Bruins fourth line responded with a very solid shift but didn’t result in much as the Blue Jackets continued to find their footing. The Bruins started to struggle getting scoring chances toward the end of the period as the Blue Jackets started to control the game and the tempo.
Both teams started to get scoring opportunities late in the period but both Rask and Sergei Bobrovsky made sure the game remained scoreless with some spectacular saves.
Score: Tied 0-0

Second Period

The Bruins were a bit sloppy in their own zone in the opening minutes of the period but good defensive plays by Torey Krug and David Backes didn’t allow the Blue Jackets to get an early goal. David Pastrnak was called for tripping early in the period which resulted in the Blue Jackets first power play of the night. The Bruins killed off the penalty and even got a good scoring chance against Bobrovsky. Both teams got some great chances including Dean Kukan hitting the crossbar but the game remained deadlocked.
The Bruins would go to the penalty kill again as Brad Marchand was called for slashing with 10:38 left in the period. Rask continued to have another strong game as he made a couple of huge saves on the penalty kill as the Bruins kept the game scoreless. David Krejci gave the B’s the lead shortly after the kill as he blasted home a one timer for his fourth goal of the postseason.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Rask continued to have a great night with a few big stops late in the period to preserve the Boston lead. The B’s continued to be solid defensively especially in the neutral zone as they limited the Blue Jackets speed and didn’t let them establish momentum in the attacking zone. McAvoy was called for an illegal check to the head with under a minute to go in the period as the Blue Jackets looked to tie the game.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Score: 1-0 Bruins

Third Period

The B’s killed off the penalty as Patrice Bergeron had a spectacular shift with a scoring chance and a couple solid defensive plays to maintain the Boston lead. The Bruins started the final period with a few good shifts in the attacking zone as they looked to extend their lead. Joakim Nordstrom was called for slashing with over 15 minutes remaining as the Blue Jackets looked to tie the game once again.
The Bruins killed it off once again as the Blue Jackets continued to ring the iron and not be able to beat Rask who was simply impenetrable. Marcus Johansson doubled the B’s lead nearly halfway through the third with a shot that busted through Bobrovsky’s glove.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Backes made it 3-0 after a beautiful feed from Krug shortly after the Johansson goal as the Bruins started to impose their will with about nine minutes remaining.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The Blue Jackets pulled Bobrovsky with about 3:30 to go as they tried desperately to get back into the game down by three goals. The Bruins held on as they advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time in six years.
Final Score: 3-0 Bruins

Three Stars Of The Game

First Star: Rask. Perhaps his best game of the postseason in this one. Number 40 picked up his first shutout of the postseason as the Bruins advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2013.
Second Star: Krejci. The center had another strong night with two points and was probably the Bruins best skater in Game 6.
Third Star: Backes. Points in three straight games for the grizzled veteran who continued his strong play as of late.