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Welcome to TD Garden for tonight’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Bruins return home after splitting their two games in Columbus, and will look to put the Blue Jackets on the brink of elimination with a win Saturday night.
Forward Noel Acciari missed morning skate Saturday with an undisclosed injury and is officially a game-time-decision.
“We gave him the morning off. He’ll be a game-time decision tonight,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said following the skate. If not, [Chris] Wagner will go in.”
After making his series debut in Game 4, David Backes remains in the lineup for Game 5 and will once again skate on a line with Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci.
Game 4’s third period was the Bruins’ best of the series. Hopefully they go back to what made them successful in the period and take that with them into an important Game 5.
It was nice to see both the power play, and the Bruins big three contribute in Game 4. No surprise the Bruins best game of the series came with the reappearance of both.
A big focus of the Bruins in Game 4 was getting to the net and making things more difficult for Blue Jackets’ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The Bruins did do a better job at getting to the net, but their net-front presence still wasn’t great. Look for more traffic in front of Bobrovsky and more second chances off of rebounds tonight.
Warmups:
No Noel Acciari on the ice for warmups. Wagner returns to the lineup.
First period:
20:00 Blue Jackets start with Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner, Josh Anderson, Seth Jones and David Werenski. Bruins counter with Joakim Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly, Chris Wagner, Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy.
12:47: Good start for the Bruins as they've generated several scoring chances. Shots favor the Bruins 5-4.
10:57: Bruins will get the first power play of the night. Cam Atkinson for slashing.
8:57: Blue Jackets kill off the power play. With David Pastrnak back on the top power play unit, they get most of the ice time on that man advantage.
8:25: Blue Jackets get a shot on the power play now. McAvoy for a slash.
6:25: Bruins kill off the McAvoy penalty. Don't really think either slash should have been called.
6:17: Too many Blue Jackets on the ice. Back to the power play for the Bruins.
4:17: Blue Jackets kill the minor. Even though they haven't scored yet, I really like the Bruins power play tonight. They're moving the puck well and getting space for chances. They'll got one if they keep it up.
0:00: Bruins and Blue Jackets head to the first intermission scoreless.
Thoughts after 20:
A bit of a conservative period for both teams. Bruins lead in shots 9-8, with the Bruins holding the edge in scoring chances 6-2.
They didn't score on either of their two first period power play opportunities, but I like the way they moved the puck on the man advantage. Four of the Bruins six scoring chances came on the power play. The bumper has been there for them and they're using it to create outside space.
Really liked that period from Danton Heinen. If you look past the box score, Heinen has been excellent this series. He's made several nice plays in the defensive zone and leads all Bruins in Corsi For percentage at 100% (4-0).
Second period:
18:21: Playoff David Krejci. 1-0 Bruins.
13:43: Unbelievable save from Bobrovsky. Absolutely robs Marcus Johansson.
10:30: Bobrovsky and Rask share back-to-back huge saves. Goalies stealing the show once again.
10:08: Blue Jackets heading back on the power play. Torey Krug for holding.
9:14: Nordstrom to the room.
8:08:bruins kill off the Krug penalty. Great saves by Rask including a massive stop on Atkinson.
7:41: Nordstrom back on the Bruins bench.
0:00: Onto the third period with the Bruins leading 1-0.
Thoughts after 40:
Really good period for both goalies, despite Bobrovsky allowing a soft one by Krejci. Things opened up more in that period and both Rask and Bobrovsky saw a ton of action.
David Backes has looked solid with Krejci and DeBrusk. Nice plays by Backes and DeBrusk led to Krejci's goal. The line bounced back nicely in the period after a shaky first.
It's so fun to watch McAvoy when he is playing at his highest level. He's so calm with the puck and is extremely smart in his own zone. What impresses me the most about McAvoy in his own zone is how good he is at taking angles, and keeping traffic to the outside.
Third period:
17:54: Ton of zone time by the Bruins first line on their first shift of the period. Few nice saves by Bobrovsky.
15:09: Another ridiculous save by Bobrovsky, but Marchand collects his own rebound. 2-0 Bruins.
9:45: Blue Jackets making a push here, but still have just four shots in the period.
9:27: A scramble in front of the Bruins net, but Rask keeps the puck out. Referees are having a look anyway.
9:27: Well, I don't know but that's a good goal. 2-1 Bruins.
8:44: That one is clear as day. David Pastrnak 3-1 Bruins.
7:53: Blue Jackets won't go away just yet. Ryan Dzingel with the goal, 3-2 Bruins.
6:00: Dean Kukan with the rocket past Rask. All tied at three.
2:17: A pair of chances in both ends of the ice, but nothing to show from it.
1:28: Time for some more Pasta, 4-3 Bruins.
1:21: Jackets pull Bobrovsky.
14.6: Bodies everywhere, but somehow Rask keeps it out of his net. Wild third period here in Game 5. After a quick review confirms no goal, Blue Jackets use their timeout. Massive faceoff coming up in the Bruins zone.
0:06: McAvoy with a massive block and heads the Bruins room in a ton of pain.
0:00: Tuukka Rask and David Pastrnak the heroes as they take Game 5.
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