Game 53 Preview: Jackets in Beantown against the Bruins

Continuing on this mini Eastern road trip, the Jackets are in Boston tonight to face the Bruins. Columbus is coming off of a tough loss against the Flyers but will look to catch the B’s while they are down and out. They are a banged up hockey team, and Columbus has no excuse but to take it to them early and set the tone. The streak of getting scored on within the first two minutes must stop tonight.

It looks like Mase is starting tonight, likely against Tuukka Rask, who is having an outstanding season. The lines are the same as last game, I’ll be looking for Freddy Modin to work his way up through the lineup somehow, but with the hot play of Raffi Torres I’m not sure where he could fit in.

I love Eastern Conference games, this one should be a dandy!

Fearless Prediction: Kris Russell scores.

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent’s Blog: Stanley Cup of Chowder

Game Page: Blue Jackets vs Bruins coverage

TSN Preview: Blue Jackets vs Bruins preview

TV: FSN

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump…

From the Columbus Dispatch:

What happened to the days of beating up on the Eastern Conference? The Jackets are 4-5-2 against the East this season, coming off a 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. The Bruins, last season’s top regular-season team in the East, have been treading water while dealing with key injuries but are starting to get healthy. The Bruins are 29th in the league in scoring, averaging 2.44 goals.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight’s tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Boston Bruins