The Blue Jackets took care of business last night in Montreal. They played one of the best games of their season when they needed it most, handily beating the Canadiens by a 5-2 final. Now, they have to do it again tonight as they host the Boston Bruins.
Last night's game was never really in doubt for the Jackets. There were some heavy breathing moments, but that wasn't until after the team had taken a 2-0 lead. And, they were able to bend without breaking, then strike back whenever they needed a goal. It was a fun game.
Tonight, they face a Boston team that has had their number this season. The Bruins are 2-0-0 against the Jackets, and still have a lot to play for despite locking up a playoff spot. They should be motivated to come out and play the spoiler at Nationwide this evening.
The Opponent
The Bruins are one of seven teams who have clinched a playoff spot on the Eastern Conference. They own a record of 43-27-10 (96 points), which has them in the second wild card spot after the Ottawa Senators jumped over them yesterday.
That means the Bruins still have a lot at stake. They will be hoping to win out to try to keep themselves out of the 1v8 matchup in the East, which would mean a likely date with those pesky Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.
Boston is benefitting from an MVP type of season out of David Pastrnak this year. He is tied for 5th in the NHL in both assists (70) and points (99), leading the Bruins in scoring by 32 points coming into tonight's game.
But it's not just about the superstar. They have 8 players with 15 or more goals, and that doesn't include Charlie McAvoy, who has 61 points from the back-end. This team is 11th in the NHL in scoring, and it is not by accident.
Defensively, they are 18th, but honestly a lot of that is propped up by goaltender Jeremy Swayman. He has bounced back in a big way after a down year, posting a .906% save percentage, 2.76 goals against average and 1 shutout; helping him to a 30-18-4 record.
Good news: Swayman played yesterday, and it's not likely that the Bruins will want to run him into the ground in a back-to-back start. Bad news: his backup is Joonas Korpisalo, who stopped 38 shots and was the game's first star in the first matchup between these two teams this season.
The Good Guys
Last night was one of those rare games where everything just fell into place for the Blue Jackets. They hounded the puck and did good things with it once they had it. The Canadiens were one step behind all night, and a lot of that was due to the hard work the Jackets put in.
That has to be this team's formula for success in these final two games, if they are going to win them. They have to put forth everything they have, each and every shift, to give themselves a chance at a playoff spot.
The most encouraging thing I noticed last night was the team's offense. Suddenly they looked dangerous again, and the right names showed up on the scoresheet. Let's hope they have turned a corner-and that it's not too late.
We will have to wait until closer to game-time for any lineup announcements, as the team traveled overnight and will not skate this morning.
One secondary storyline we're watching for: will Zach Werenski take over some single season records this year? It's possible.
Three Keys to Success
1. Maintain the standard. They showed us just how good they can be last night in a tough environment. There is no reason to deviate from that effort or style of play. It was about as close to perfect as we could have asked for. Stick with it.
2. Hope for some puck luck. Yes, the Bruins have gotten great goaltending against the Jackets this year. But, part of that is also on the Jackets not burying their chances. They have to create their own puck luck sometimes, and that will be the case tonight.
3. It's a must win. Two games left to get to 96 points. That's the only path I see for this team to get in, because we can't count on Philadelphia losing out. Just find a way.
Puck drop for this one is scheduled for just after 6:00 Eastern time. This broadcast has been taken by NHL Network, so if you live out of market, good luck tuning in. I will never understand why this league sticks games on that channel, and I'm not the only one. Let's go Jackets!