The Boston Bruins look to keep the good times rolling as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets inside Nationwide Arena on Sunday evening.
The Bruins will be making one change following yesterday’s decisive 6-3 win over the Minnesota Wild.
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Defenseman Mason Lohrei will not play due to an upper-body injury, per Mark Schieg.
“It’s been going on for a while,” Bruins’ Head Coach Marco Sturm said. “It just got worse. That’s why he’s out.”
Sturm also announced that Jeremy Swayman will start again tonight after last night’s win, making this the third career back-to-back double for Swayman.
“First of all, he’s been outstanding,” Sturm said. “I think he’s one of the best goalies in the league right now. He had three days of rest. He played unbelievable last night and it’s another big one tonight. We feel really good and confident he can bring us another two points.”
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This is a game with massive implications for the playoff race.
With a win, Moneypuck.com moves the Bruins’ odds to make the playoffs to 91.8%. A regulation loss moves back down to 74%.
Tonight has all the makings of a win-and-virtually in. It’d create a six-point buffer for the final wild card place, making it near insurmountable with the tiebreakers Boston holds.
Bruins Expected Lines:
Forwards:
Marat Khusnutdinov – Fraser Minten – David Pastrnak
Casey Mittelstadt – Pavel Zacha – Viktor Arvidsson
Lukas Reichel – Elias Lindholm – Morgan Geekie
Tanner Jeannot – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic
Defense & Starting Goalie:
Jonathan Aspirot – Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm – Henri Jokiharju
Nikita Zadorov – Andrew Peeke
Jeremy Swayman
