It wasn’t easy, but the Bruins escaped from Columbus with a 5-4 shootout win over the Blue Jackets.
The Bruins rallied from two one goal deficits to take a 4-3 lead but allowed Columbus to tie the game on a power play goal with 1.8 seconds remaining. Neither team was able to score in overtime. David Pastrnak scored the lone Bruins shootout goal while Jeremy Swayman stopped all 3 shots he faced to secure the win.
The win gave Boston a 5-1 record on this 6 game road trip. The Bruins (34-18-4) have won seven of eight and are three points ahead of Washington for the top wild card and seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and only two points back of third-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins got in front early thanks to – who else – the red hot Jake DeBrusk who tipped home a shot by Brad Marchand half way through the 1st to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. It was DeBrusk’s eighth goal in the last eight games.
Disaster struck late in the first as as the Bruins gave up a pair of goal a little over 2 minutes apart. Gustav Nyquist grabbed a loose puck and sniped it top shelf past Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman to tie the score at 1. Two minutes and 3 seconds later Vladislav Gavrikov beat Swayman to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins pulled even 2:15 into the second period. Erik Haula raced in on a delayed penalty call to bury a short wrister past Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins. It was Haula’s third goal in four games, extending his point streak to six games. Columbus took back the lead on a power play goal by Zach Werenski with 5.32 to go.
Craig Smith pulled the Bruins back even with a goal 4.48 into the 3rd period. The Bruins took the lead on the power play when Patrice Bergeron’s banged home a rebound with 5 minutes to go in regulation.
Nick Foligno took a late penalty and Columbus was able to tie it tie it playing 6-on-4 when Jakub Voracek fired home a shot from the point through a screen to beat Swayman,
Craig Smith: The Bruins are getting production from all of their reshuffled lines and Craig Smith has been one of the beneficiaries. Smith – who broke a 12 game goal scoring drought with a hat trick Thursday against Vegas – scored again on Saturday. He also had 5 shots on goal. Smith – playing alongside new linemates Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic – has been a revelation on the trip, with 4 goals and 3 assists over the past 6 games.
David Pastrnak: Pastrnak didn’t score a regulation goal but he was all over the ice for the Bruins. Pasta tallied one assist on Bergeron’s go ahead goal in the 3rd and made a potential game saving backcheck in the final seconds of overtime before potting the lone shootout goal to give the Bruins the win. Pastrnak has a point in 8 straight games. After failing to score a single goal in the month of December Pastrnak leads all NHL players with 23 goals since the beginning of the new year.
Bruce Cassidy Ok, not a player but hard to not give Cassidy a heap of credit for the balanced attack that has paced the Bruins of late. Boston got at least one goals from their top 3 lines (1. Debrusk/Pasta, 2. Haula, 3. Smith.) All total 16 different Bruins scored at least a point during the 6 game road trip. With the trade deadline approaching the Bruins find themselves looking less needy than one might have thought a couple weeks ago.
Jeremy Swayman: sorry Sway, but this one goes to you. After a lights out stretch where he took the reins as the Bruins unquestioned number one netminder, Swayman had his first so-so start in a long time surrendering a couple goals he’d probably like to have back. Swayman’s four goals allowed were his most since December 14th. He had not allowed more than 2 goals in a game over his past 7 starts with 2 shutouts mixed in.
Rick Nash’s NHL career may have ended in Boston – but Nash entered the league and became one of the most fearsome forwards in the NHL as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. And on Saturday Nash became the first player to ever have has number retired by the franchise – as his number 61 was raised to the rafters during a between periods ceremony at Nationwide Arena. Nash played for in Columbus for 12 seasons 6 more for the Rangers before finishing his career in Boston. Nash – a trade deadline acquisition in 2018 – played only 11 games for Boston. He retired in January of 2019 due to complications of a concussion sustained in March of the previous year. Nash had 437 goals and 368 assists in 1,060 career games.
A nice homecoming for former Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno. Foligno got a rousing reception from the crowd in his first visit to Nationwide Arena since being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021. Foligno ranks third in Blue Jackets history in games played (599), assists (192) and points (334), and fourth in goals (142).
Former Bruins Sean Kuraly played his first game against his old team since leaving Boston to sign with Columbus this offseason. Kuraly had nothing but great things to say about his time in Boston.
“It was obviously my first everything. My first game, goal…all situations. We got to go deep into the playoffs for a few years in a row,” said Sean Kuraly. “I got to learn from some future Hall of Famers and be in the same locker room as some pretty great players and great people and great leaders. A lot of great teammates and great friends that I’ve made over the years. I think the biggest thing is I got to learn a lot about being in the NHL and I’m really, really thankful for that.
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