Boston Bruins (38-21-9, 85pts) vs.
Columbus Blue Jackets (32-27-9, 73pts)
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
7:00 PM EST
TV: FSN-OH / Radio: WBNS 97.1 FM
(Dispatch Preview / SportsDirect Preview)
WFNY Tickets – Follow me @WFNYDP from the press box tonight!
The projection seems to be that the Jackets have to win 10 or 11 of their last 14 games (think: 10-2-2 or 11-3 to get to 95 points). Well, they can’t win 10 games in one night. The first order of business is to win one game: the game in front of them. That’s tonight against another Eastern Conference foe, though this one is a division-leader. The Bruins are scuffling just a bit (0-2-2 in their last four), but prior to that had ripped off seven regulation wins in a row. Boston hasn’t played since Friday (loss to the Islanders), so they will be rested and ready to go.
Projected Lineups
| SC1: | Milan Lucic | David Krejci | Nathan Horton |
| SC2: | Brad Marchand | Patrice Bergeron | Rich Peverley |
| CK1: | Mark Recchi | Chris Kelly | Michael Ryder |
| CK2: | Daniel Paille | Gregory Campbell | Shawn Thornton |
| D1: | Zdeno Chara | Johnny Boychuk | |
| D2: | Tomas Kaberle | Adam McQuaid | |
| D3: | Dennis Seidenberg | Steve Kampfer | |
| G: | Tim Thomas |
| SC1: | Rick Nash | Derick Brassard | Jakub Voracek |
| SC2: | RJ Umberger | Antoine Vermette | Jared Boll |
| CK1: | Ethan Moreau | Sammy Pahlsson | Derek Dorsett |
| CK2: | Scottie Upshall | Derek MacKenzie | Matt Calvert |
| D1: | Fedor Tyutin | Marc Methot | |
| D2: | Kris Russell | Grant Clitsome | |
| D3: | Jan Hejda | Sami Lepisto | |
| G: | Steve Mason |
Team Rankings
Scoring:
BOS – 3.00 gpg (5th NHL)
CBJ – 2.71 gpg (20th NHL)
Defense:
BOS – 2.34 gapg (3rd NHL)
CBJ – 2.96 gapg (23rd NHL)
Power Play:
BOS – 16.7% (20th NHL)
CBJ – 15.1% (27th NHL)
Penalty Kill:
BOS – 81.5% (18th NHL)
CBJ – 81.1% (20th NHL)
Season Matchups
This is the first and only matchup this season. The Jackets are 5-4-0 all-time against Boston, including 3-2-0 in Columbus.
03/15/11 – Boston @ Columbus – 7:00 PM EST
Who Else We’re Pulling For…
Thanks to the wonderful site Sports Club Stats, we can look at other games going on tonight and see who to root for to aid the Jackets:
Phoenix Coyotes at Calgary Flames
Los Angeles Kings at Nashville Predators
San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars
Game Notes
This is an interesting matchup. If you look at the pure team numbers, the Bruins blow the Jackets away. But, if you look at their roster, there isn’t one “star” there except for maybe the goalie Tim Thomas. Rick Nash would be the leading scorer (both in goals and in total points) on the Bruins’ roster.
What they do have, however, is depth. Bill James always says about baseball teams that you don’t need great players; you just need a team FULL of above-average players. That’s exactly what the Bruins have. They have 10 forwards out of the 12 probables above with 10 or more goals. What this means is that Columbus can’t focus on one line over another.
The Jackets’ offense has dried up a bit of late, so they will need to get that untracked tonight if they want to try to hang in. Boston is stingy defensively, and Thomas in goal is as good as anyone in the league; in fact, he leads the league in both save percentage and goals-against average. The Jackets have to cap their chances tonight.
Defensively, they need to tighten up. They have to be responsible and stay out of the box as much as possible (nine Power Plays they had to kill on Saturday night! NINE!), as being constantly on the PK wears down your best defenders. If Columbus can stay disciplined and roll their four lines, they’ve shown that can play with and beat anybody in the league; they’ve especially shown that against teams from the East.
From The Outside Looking In
The Boston Globe
Stanley Cup of Chowder
The Bruins Blog
Next Game For The Jackets
Thursday, March 17, 2011
7:00 PM EST
Detroit Red Wings @ Columbus Blue Jackets