Round 2 Game 5 Preview: To the land of baked beans, Blue Jackets want to stir pot their way

Saturday, May 4, 2019 – 7:15 EST
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
TV: NBC; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Stanley Cup of Chowder

Columbus Blue Jackets (47-31-4, 98 points, 5th Metro, 8th East, defeated Tampa Bay 4-0)

at

Boston Bruins (49-24-9, 107 points, 2nd Atlantic, 2nd East, defeated Toronto 4-3)

Series tied 2-2

It’s not a must-win scenario, officially, but everyone knows what winning a pivotal Game 5 in Boston on Saturday night means. Win and you’re one step close to the Eastern Conference Finals, lose and you’re on the brink of your season being over. Neither the Columbus Blue Jackets or the Boston Bruins want the latter, and you can guarantee both will be set from the opening puck drop looking to make a statement. As the Bruins found the clutch scoring they needed, and fast, in Game 4, the Blue Jackets will look to get their offensive game going, and in turn, look to avoid taking penalties after taking six in Game 4.

Player to Watch

Cam Atkinson has been a tad quiet for the Blue Jackets this series. Though he has three assists, Atkinson has not found the back of the net since the opening round, Game 3, when he sealed that win with an empty net goal against the Lightning. Overall for the playoffs, Atkinson is among the Blue Jackets top point-getters, sporting seven points (two goals, five assists), including three of those assists against the Bruins in the four second round games to this point.

Jackets Notes

Riley Nash and Markus Nutivaara both traveled with the club to Boston. … Nash missed Game 4 with an undisclosed upper-body injury while Nutivaara hasn’t played since Game 2 against the Lightning (upper body). … Nationwide Arena set a new franchise record in Game 4 with an announced crowd of 19,431. … With his fifth goal of the playoffs, Artemi Panarin tied Matt Duchene for most goals among the team in the playoffs, but also for the most goals in franchise history among a single playoff year. … Seth Jones (two goals, six assists) has four assists in this series alone, and his eight assists for the playoffs leads the team, while his eight points is third best. … Jones leads the team with over 31:00 per game. … Columbus is last among current playoff teams with just 12 goals 5-on-5 (tied-eighth overall), with another one at 4-on-4. … In the series versus Boston, they have just four goals at 5-on-5, and another three on the power play. … Their eight goals while 5-on-4 is among the best for the playoffs (tied-second). … Pierre-Luc Dubois has one goal, one assist in the series as he looks to find his way again. … Ryan Dzingel has had a tough playoffs, while not recording a point, and playing just 5:15 in Game 4. … Columbus is 23-11-1 after a loss this season, 1-0 in the playoffs.

Save percentages in this series:
Tuukka Rask: .942
Sergei Bobrovsky: .934

Some elite goaltending happening between the Bruins and #CBJ

— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) May 3, 2019

The Other Bench

The Bruins have scored the first goal in three of the first four games. Defenseman John Moore was still not considered 100% as of Friday, but he is evaluated before every game. Moore, out with an upper-body injury after being on the wrong side of a hit towards the end of the regular season, has not suited up for the Bruins since their first round series in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs. It appears David Backes (assist in Game 4) will get another go for Game 5 as coach Bruce Cassidy liked what he saw from him, while you can expect to see David Krejci on the first power play, in part, due to his composure on the blue line. David Pastrnak had a goal and Brad Marchand had an assist last game, while Tuukka Rask was the main difference, stopping 39-of-40 shots, and thwarting many chances, particularly short-handed as Boone Jenner and the Blue Jackets were all over the puck while short-handed.

Clearly, the Bruins feature an excellent power play when things are clicking, as they are second-best (31.3%) behind the Blue Jackets for these playoffs. And Patrice Bergeron did his part with two goals on the man-advantage, as Boston went 2-for-6 on the power play Thursday, and the team broke a 1-for-10 drought entering Game 4. Similarly to Columbus, Boston will look to creating more chances at even-strength, having scored just six goals while 5-on-5 in the series.

Notes from Bruins availability today:

* Backes will probably play tomorrow
* Moore isn’t 100 percent yet
* Krejci on first PP for now, Cassidy believes he’s composed on the blueline
* Krejci said the amount of shorthanded chances they’ve given up “shouldn’t happen”

— Marisa Ingemi (@Marisa_Ingemi) May 3, 2019

Patrice Bergeron recorded his 92nd and 93rd career points in the #StanleyCup Playoffs (36-57—93 in 123 GP) and leapfrogged Bobby Orr (26-66—92 in 74 GP) for sixth place on the @NHLBruins’ all-time list.

More #NHLStats: https://t.co/EjEAFcTQQ6 pic.twitter.com/A6AgtpoYop

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 3, 2019

Season Series

03/12/2019 BOS 4 @ CBJ 7
03/16/2019 CBJ 1 @ BOS 2 (OT)
04/02/2019 BOS 6 @ CBJ 2

04/25/2019 CBJ 2 @ BOS 3 (OT)
04/27/2019 CBJ 3 @ BOS 2 (2 OT)
04/30/2019 BOS 1 @ CBJ 2
05/02/2019 BOS 4 @ CBJ 1
05/04/2019 CBJ @ BOS
05/06/2019 BOS @ CBJ
05/08/2019 CBJ @ BOS (if necessary)

Stats

Projected Lineups