Game 60 Preview: Blue Jackets (23-29-7) at Bruins (32-21-6)

Just The Facts:

Records: Boston Bruins: 32-21-6, 70 Points in 59 Games, 2nd in the Atlantic. Columbus Blue Jackets: 23-29-7, 53 Points in 59 Games, Last in the Metro

Home/Away, Last 10 Splits: Bruins at Home: 12-14-3 (yuck). Blue Jackets Away: 12-17-1. L10: Bruins 6-3-1, Blue Jackets 6-2-2.

Vs. Each Other: The Bruins have won both meetings thus far, though one victory was in OT and the other in the SO.

Line: Bruins -190, over/under 5.5

How/When To Watch:

When: Tonight -- Monday, February 22nd, 7 PM

Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA.

TV: NESN, FS-O

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Game Notes: The Bruins dropped to 3rd in the Atlantic by virtue of the Tampa Bay Lightning's 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, as both Boston and Tampa now sit at 70 points through 59 games and the latter has the tiebreak. Both teams trail the Florida Panthers by 5 points. Boston will get a chance to re-leapfrog Tampa, as the Lightning don't play again until Tuesday, and they currently hold a one-point lead on the 4th-place Detroit Red Wings (with Boston having a game in hand).

Columbus continues to be more competitive since John Tortorella took over, though they're still certainly a team the Bruins need to be collecting points against...especially with the Atlantic race for seeding so close. CBJ Goalie Joonas Korpisalo has started 12 straight games with Sergei Bobrovsky (who exited a Jan. 21th game with an injury and has not returned since) on the shelf, so it's a possibility that, with the Blue Jackets on the first half a back-t0-back, we see either Korpisalo or Curtis McElinney. Whoever starts, the combo of the CBJ defense and goaltending has been leaky this season--even if the slow start does the skew the numbers a bit unfairly--as they're tied with the Edmonton Oilers for 2nd in most goals allowed with 184. The only team to allow more is the Ottawa Senators with 186.

For the Bruins, there's a chance Ryan Spooner could return from illness in this game, and Torey Krug's status is questionable as well. Additionally, there's a distinct possibility that Jonas Gustavsson gives Tuukka Rask a night off -- as the B's are playing the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday before going back on the road for the Carolina Hurricanes and then hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning, this may well be the match-up where Claude Julien goes with the back-up.

~

As always, check in around lunchtime, EST, for updates from morning skate. And probably another picture of Greg Campbell about to lose a face-off. Probably.