The Boston Bruins will look to continue their recent success following the NHL’s three-day holiday break when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday for the opening leg of a home-and-home series.
A 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Monday allowed Boston to go into the recess on a high, boasting a five-game points streak (4-0-1) for the first time this season.
Though the games have not all gone according to plan, Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco likes what he has seen from a team that holds a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division.
“It’s trending in the right direction,” Sacco said. “We have a process we go through every night (and) they’re checking most of the boxes. … There’s going to be games when you’re not at your best, but we’ve shown lately, too, when we’re not at our best we can find ways to win.”
There was plenty to like about the Bruins’ most recent game, as they held the Washington Capitals to 11 shots on goaltender Jeremy Swayman and used a three-goal third period to clinch the victory.
Elias Lindholm started Boston’s late surge with the game-winning goal, while 36-year-old captain Brad Marchand (one goal, two assists) became the oldest Bruins player to record points in 10 straight games.
“We haven’t been great in the third period all year this year, and to play like that against a team like Washington, that’s all we have to do every night,” Marchand said.
Despite Monday’s onslaught, Boston has scored an NHL-low 27 goals in the final frame this season.
Marchand has scored seven of his team-high 15 goals in December alone.
The Bruins will hope for positive injury news on David Pastrnak, the star winger who left Monday’s game in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
The Blue Jackets have won just two of their past eight games (2-3-3), with both coming in the previous three games. The most recent was a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday when Kirill Marchenko scored with 2:12 left, finishing the night with three points (one goal, two assists) in a career-high 23:17 of game time.
Marchenko has a team-leading 13 goals and 37 points this season and has played especially well of late. The 24-year-old is riding a six-game points streak (three goals, seven assists) and is continually developing chemistry with Dmitri Voronkov and Sean Monahan on the team’s top line.
“(Marchenko) has competed his (butt) off,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said. “We were talking (about) how hard he’s competed, and that’s what we’ve asked him to do — win your battles, win your puck races, win your one-on-one confrontations, and he’s done that.”
Monday’s game also saw the NHL debut of one of the Blue Jackets’ top prospects in defenseman Denton Mateychuk. Despite going scoreless, the 2022 first-round pick saw regular action (18:36) and found his way onto the second power-play unit.
“It’s awesome to be trusted with (a special-teams role), but now you’ve got to perform and be able to take that situation and make the most of it,” Mateychuk said. “I was trying to go out there and do my thing.”
Columbus is 11-5-4 when scoring first this season.
Three first-period goals, including one by former Bruin James van Riemsdyk, helped the Blue Jackets cruise to a 5-1 win on Nov. 18 in Boston.
