Preview: Bruins kick off 2020 with a visit from the Columbus Blue Jackets

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7 PM

Where: TD Garden - Boston, MA

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Jackets Cannon

Know your enemy

• 18-14-8, 44 points, 6th in the Metropolitan Division
• Goals: Pierre-Luc Dubois, 13
• Assists: Gustav Nyquist, 19
• Points: Nyquist, 28
• Goalie: Joonas Korpisalo, 17-10-4, 2.49 GAA, .913 save percentage

Game notes

• A playoff rematch! This is the first time the Bruins and Blue Jackets will meet since the Bruins dispatched Columbus in 6 games in last spring’s second round. That was a rough-and-tumble series, so it will be interesting to see if there’s any carry-over hostilities.
• One of the main rough-and-tumble components of that series was Columbus forward Josh Anderson, who got hit high by Charlie McAvoy in the series’ last game. Anderson is out for a few weeks with an upper-body injury, but prior to that, he had been having a brutal season. After scoring 27 goals last regular season, he had just 1 in 26 games prior to his most recent injury.
• The Jackets have been on a nice run of late, winning 6 of their last 8 games, including their most recent game, a 4-1 win over Florida on New Year’s Eve.
• Speaking of Florida, that’s the home of the Jackets’ former goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky. He skipped town last summer, but Joonas Korpisalo has done an admirable job filling in. He earned an All-Star Game nod earlier this week for his efforts. Unfortunately for Columbus, he's on the shelf with an injury.
• Columbus lost its best player and best scorer this summer when Artemi Panarin left, and his absence has been felt: Columbus has the 25th-ranked offense in the league, averaging just 2.63 goals per game.
• For the Bruins, they’ll be looking to shake off their 2019 shootout blues. Tuukka Rask should end up starting, with other lineup changes to be determined.
• Charlie McAvoy skated the other day, but there’s no word yet on how close or not close he is. Same goes for Torey Krug. As of Wednesday afternoon, Jeremy Lauzon hadn’t been returned to Providence, so the Bruins must still have some injury concerns on the blue line.
• There have been no concrete updates on David Krejci or Connor Clifton.
• I would expect Danton Heinen draws back into the lineup tonight, but I have been wrong before, so...

See ya tonight!