After a three-day holiday break, the Boston Bruins return to the ice Friday night to begin a home-and-home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Boston entered the break with a 4-0-1 record in their last five games including home wins against the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals.
The win over the Capitals didn't come without a loss. David Pastrnak left in the second period with an upper-body injury, but after allowing the game-tying goal, the Bruins scored three third-period goals for a 4-1 victory over the second-best team in the Metropolitan Division. Now they will be looking to strengthen their hold on third place in the Atlantic Division against the Blue Jackets.
How to watch Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets with & without cable
The first game of the home-and-home will be at Columbus on Friday night before the teams get on a plane and come back to Boston for Saturday night. This will mark the Black and Gold's only trip to Columbus this season.
Date: Friday, Dec. 27
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Nationwide Arena
How to Watch: FDSNOH, NESN, ESPN+, FuboTV
At the beginning of the season, this was looked upon as what should be four points for the Bruins, but that is not the case. Columbus came into the TD Garden back in November and won, 5-1, with former Bruin James van Riemsdyk scoring as part of a three-goal period for the Blue Jackets. Entering this game, Columbus has 34 points and is just four points behind the Ottawa Senators for the eighth and final postseason spot.
Before the break, the Bruins were playing their best hockey of the season and Elias Lindholm and Brad Marchand were starting to make connections and producing. Their line with Charlie Coyle accounted for all three goals in the final period against Washington with each player scoring once. This is certainly a game that the Bruins can't take lightly.