Boston Bruins: 4 Keys to Thursday's Matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Boston Bruins can all but take the finale of their five-game homestand as a conditional parting gift before they hit the road to visit three cities within the span of a week.

In the effort to finish this homestand undefeated, they must repel the temptation to ease off the accelerator and do their part to put away the Columbus Blue Jackets. This will mean exploiting a downtrodden, dead-last, 3-13-1 team that has the NHL’s flimsiest defense, worst goals for-goals against differential at minus-26 and zero points on the road.

Pretty simple, right? Well, yes and no.

Some of the finer points to this matchup are assessed as follows.

Pounce First, Experiment Later

The Blue Jackets have played one more game than the Bruins and on the whole, they appear relatively even in at least one department. They have each amassed a cumulative 12 goals in the first period so far.

The key discrepancy therein is that Columbus’ output has remained steady through the subsequent 40 minutes (12 goals in the second period, 14 in the third). Conversely, Boston’s production tends to accelerate with 16 middle-frame strikes and 27 in the closing stanza for a league-high average of 1.69 per night.

If the Bruins can get off to a start reminiscent of their Nov. 5 visit to Toronto, they could accomplish three enticing feats.

For one, they will put the Jackets and their fourth-worst offense on the spot to improve their 0-10-1 record when allowing the first goal against the league’s ninth-best defense. For another, a 2-0 lead will challenge Columbus to pull off its first victory when authorizing more than one opposing strike.

And if the Bruins wrest the game far enough out of reach, head coach Claude Julien will have an easier time granting more minutes to those who could stand to see more action. In particular, unripe sophomore defenseman Steven Kampfer could use as much experience as he can pick up while he is still filling in for Andrew Ference. Thursday’s third period could be the time to do that.

Making Road Kill

The Bruins are one of six NHL teams with a median of three goals per game or better. Of the other five, the Blue Jackets have visited two for each of their most recent road games.

On Oct. 29, Columbus stayed with the host Chicago Blackhawks respectably enough through the second intermission, but ultimately spilled a 5-2 decision in the third period. One week later, prior to their recent three-game homestand, they fell behind the Philadelphia Flyers’ league-leading offense, 5-0, in the first period and sank to a 9-2 final.

Having tallied no fewer than four strikes in each of their first six outings this month, the Bruins ought to have plenty to keep that trend going. They ought to know firsthand from the tail-end of October how lethal self-doubt can be, especially for a floundering team like Columbus.

Recharging the Power

Over its last two outings, Boston’s power play has gone a cumulative 0-for-5 against two of the NHL’s top three penalty-killing brigades from Buffalo and New Jersey.

Columbus, on the other hand, has a 74.2 percent success rate on the PK, second only to the Maple Leafs for worst in the league.

In two meetings with Toronto, the Bruins have gone 3-for-7 with the man-advantage, including a 1-for-2 outing as part of their 7-0 triumph at the Air Canada Centre earlier this month.

The Blue Jackets similarly do not spend a substantial amount of time shorthanded. They have committed 62 total infractions, which is fewer than what 19 other NHL teams can claim. In fact, they have logged precisely 40 more minutes on the power play than vice versa.

Nonetheless, their inept percentage in terms of killing penalties speaks for itself and every little bit will help Boston establish more conviction in its 5-on-4 squadron.

Jamming Johansen

Over their last six outings, the Blue Jackets have mustered merely 13 goals. Four of those alone have come off the blade of rookie Ryan Johansen, who has suited up for five of those six games.

In their second-most recent venture, Johansen singlehandedly gave the Jackets a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. And he happens to have notched the decider in all three of Columbus’ victories, the other two being a 3-1 upshot over Anaheim on Oct. 30 and a 4-1 victory over Detroit five nights prior. All three of those goals permanently busted 1-1 knots.

If the Bruins want to keep any single Blue Jacket off the board more than the rest, Johansen is it. The last thing they want to risk is Columbus’ sole clutch performer kindling any kind of inspiration for the visitors.