By: Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On Twitter / X @adbblue
The Boston Bruins defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 in Columbus on Tuesday night. It’s the team’s fourth straight win, following four losses in a row prior to the holiday break. The win featured several players continuing to stay hot.
A strong back half of the third period is what solidified this one for Boston. They stuck to their game and buried their chances when it mattered most. The victory sealed them winning the season series against Columbus 2-1.
First Period
The Bruins had a good first few shifts and produced a couple of chances right off the bat. They didn’t find the back of the net, but they established some solid momentum using the low-to-high game. Columbus had a slight pushback, generating some looks off the rush, but the defense was solid, taking away the middle. Boston had the first power-play of the night after David Jiricek took a delay of game penalty.
The man advantage couldn’t find any continuity, and Columbus killed it off without a problem. Just after that, there was a four-on-four situation where Pastrnak had a great chance in front but was denied by Blue Jackets goalie Spencer Martin. Columbus had some extended zone time toward the end of the first period, but Linus Ullmark stood tall in net. There were no goals in the opening frame, with the Blue Jackets outshooting Boston 12-5. Ullmark turned aside all 12 shots.
Second Period
The Bruins opened the scoring early in the second period when the low-to-high game was again a factor. Kevin Shattenkirk ripped a shot from the right point to make it a 1-0 game. It was the veteran defenseman’s third goal in three games. The Jackets answered quickly, however, when Kent Johnson ripped a shot past Ullmark from just above the hash marks, tying it 1-1.
Boston took a 2-1 lead on the power-play with a double deflection that beat Martin. Hampus Lindholm threw the puck on net from up top, with it being tipped by Jake DeBrusk, then bouncing off James van Riemsdyk and in. The assist for DeBrusk marks his fourth straight game with a point. The Bruins controlled most of the play in the second period, outshooting the Jackets 13-3, with Ullmark making two quality saves.
Third Period
The Bruins had a couple of solid looks right off the opening face-off, but nothing happened as a result. The Jackets immediately pressed the attack, testing Ullmark, who made three key positional stops. Following that, there were a good amount of possession changes with little offense. That changed when the Bruins extended their lead when van Riemsdyk got the puck to the front of the net, and Danton Heinen buried home the loose biscut, making it 3-1.
The Black and Gold shut down the Columbus offense, playing great structural hockey in the second half of the third period. The Bruins then put the game away with Trent Frederic making it 4-1 on a great feed from van Riemsdyk off the rush. It was Frederic’s sixth point in five games, and it completed a three-point night for van Riemsdyk. Ullmark shut the door, stopping 26 of 27 shots faced.
Up Next
The Bruins will return home Thursday night and host the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. It will be the first meeting between the two teams of the season. Going into Tuesday night, the Penguins were 7-2-1 in their last ten games.
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