Monday, April 4, 2022 – 7:00 EDT
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Stanley Cup of Chowder
Columbus Blue Jackets (32-32-5, 69 points, 6th Metro, 10th East)
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Boston Bruins (43-20-5, 89 points, 4th Atlantic, 7th East)
The Jackets are on an unfortunate losing skid, one they can hopefully snap tonight against a tough Bruins team. I didn’t watch Saturday night’s game, so if you’re in the same boat as me or just need a refresh, here’s our recap. To sum it up, the Jackets ended the second period tied 2-2 and ended up dropping the game 5-2 as the final score. The Jackets are not consistent in most regards, but they are consistently reliable for a third period implosion! To be fair (?), two of the three Boston third period goals were empty-netters.
Player to Watch
Carson Meyer
Columbus native and Ohio State hockey alum Carson Meyer is set to make his debut with his hometown NHL team tonight, which is awesome. On making his hometown debut, Carson said, “It’s the rink I grew up coming to and cheering on the Blue Jackets, coming to so many games with my dad here. Now my dad is gonna be in the stands along with I don’t even know how many family members are going to try to come in, but they’re all gonna get to watch me tonight. It’s hard to put into words.”
With the Cleveland Monsters, Meyer currently has 27 points (16 goals) in 57 games this season. He’ll join Eric Robinson and Brendan Gaunce’s line tonight, and he’ll be the eighth CBJ player this season to make his NHL debut.
Jackets Notes
Zach Werenski is returning from his upper-body injury – woo! Brad Larsen is also returning after missing the last two games to COVID protocol. Unfortunately, Pascal Vincent has swapped spots with him and entered protocol … Yegor Chinakhov is out (upper body) and Meyer is in for him … Jake Christiansen is playing his fifth CBJ/NHL game tonight, in with Zach for Kukan/Bayreuther.
The Other Bench
The Bruins are hot right now, scoring heaps of goals against opponents and they’re right at the top of the competition for the Stanley Cup. And that’s all I have to say about that!
Season Series
03/04/2022 BOS 4 @ CBJ 5 (SO)
04/02/2022 CBJ 2 @ BOS 5
04/04/2022 BOS @ CBJ
Stats
| Boston | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.16 (14) | GPG | 3.17 (13) |
| 2.66 (6) | GAPG | 3.74 (30) |
| 24.4% (6) | PP% | 18.4% (24) |
| 81.7% (8) | PK% | 77.2% (21) |
| 54.0% (5) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 47.3% (24) |
| 55.2% (3) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 46.5% (27) |
| 7.5 (30) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.1 (8) |
| .918 (17) | 5v5 Save % | .908 (28) |
| David Pastrnak, 38 | G Leader | Patrik Laine, 25 |
| Brad Marchand, 40 | A Leader | Jakub Voracek, 44 |
| David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, 71 | P Leader | Patrik Laine, 51 |
| Brad Marchand, 81 | PIM Leader | Sean Kuraly, 55 |
| 21-9-3 | Home / Road | 18-14-3 |
| 8-2-0 | Last 10 | 3-5-2 |
Projected Lines
| Gus Nyquist | Jack Roslovic | Patrik Laine |
| Jakub Voracek | Cole Sillinger | Emil Bemstrom |
| Justin Danforth | Sean Kuraly | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Eric Robinson | Brendan Gaunce | Carson Meyer |
| Zach Werenski | Andrew Peeke |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Jake Bean |
| Jake Christiansen | Adam Boqvist |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| J.F. Berube |
| Brad Marchand | Patrice Bergeron | Jake Debrusk |
| Taylor Hall | Erik Haula | David Pastrnak |
| Trent Frederic | Charlie Coyle | Craig Smith |
| Nick Foligno | Tomas Nosek | Curtis Lazar |
| Hampus Lindholm | Charlie McAvoy |
| Matt Grzelcyk | Brandon Carlo |
| Derek Forbort | Mike Reilly |
| Jeremy Swayman |
| Linus Ullmark |