PREVIEW: Back at home, Blue Jackets take on Boston | Columbus Blue Jackets

As the Blue Jackets go through the process of trying to learn how to play with a lead late in the game, there was bound to be hiccups along the way.

But Columbus can’t seem to stop finding itself stuck in the same movie over and over again. The Blue Jackets have let five teams earn third-period comeback wins on the season, and in three other instances, the squad was in a tie game in the third only to see that team win in regulation.

Even worse, Columbus has found itself giving up some of those leads late. Earlier this month, both Florida and New York rallied to win games after tying them up in the final minute. Sunday night in Carolina, 50 good minutes and a 2-0 lead turned into another frustrating finish, as Carolina scored thrice in the last 10 to post a 3-2 victory.

Turning just a handful of those tight losses into wins would have the team in the thick of the playoff race. Instead, the Blue Jackets are having to deal with the frustration of what it’s like to learn lessons the hard way.

“It’s the same thing over and over again,” Johnny Gaudreau said. “We gotta learn. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot. We have 10 minutes left and we have a two-goal lead. We have to find a way to win that game, especially with a big (penalty) kill.

“We have to learn how to play with the lead. We did a good job the past two games. I thought we were moving on the right track, but they were just pushing pretty hard there then in the third.”

The toughest part about the situation is that the few tough minutes, from a results standpoint, are overwhelming what the Jackets are accomplishing for long stretches of play. The Blue Jackets handled Carolina’s pressure with savvy, poised play for most of Sunday night’s contest only to see the final minutes turn into yet another disappointing finish.

But there’s little rest for the weary with Boston coming to town tonight, and the Blue Jackets will have another chance to see how they stack up against the league’s best tonight in Nationwide Arena.

“You know what’s gonna happen tomorrow?” head coach Pascal Vincent said postgame. “We’ll have to get up and do it again. You win a hockey game, the next day, you have to get up and do it again. You lose a hockey game, whether it’s hard, that you deserve a better fate or not, the next day you have to get up and do it again.

“I think that’s what they’re good at. I know they’re frustrated right now. We can feel it, but the vibe is right, and tomorrow we’ll get up and do it again.”

Know The Foe: Boston Bruins 

Head coach: Jim Montgomery (Second season)  

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.40 (12th) | Scoring defense: 2.50 (4th) | PP: 22.7 percent (9th) | PK: 88.2 percent (3rd)  

The narrative: Boston’s 2022-23 season was a tale of two outcomes – after an NHL-record 65-win regular season, the Bruins took a 3-1 lead in their opening round series with Florida only to watch the Panthers win three straight to advance It’s a very different Bruins team this time around, but the results so far have been similar – Boston is 14-3-3 and tied atop the NHL through its first 20 games, just as it was a season ago when it was 17-3-0. But postseason success will be the barometer for one of the most consistent squads in the league as the Bruins chase their first Stanley Cup since 2011.  

Team leaders: David Pastrnak remains one of the top scorers in the league, as the superstar’s 13-18-31 line places him tied for fifth in the league in goals, tied for eighth in assists and fourth in goals. Charlie Coyle (9-10-19) and Brad Marchand (7-12-19) are next in scoring, while Paver Zacha has seven goals and 16 points.  

The team’s two-headed goalie tandem again has been impressive, with both Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman starting 10 games apiece. Swayman is 7-1-2 with a 2.28 GAA and .926 save percentage, while Ullmark is 7-2-1 with a 2.58 GAA and .918 save percentage.  

What’s new: Boston has reconfigured quite a bit of its roster after Patrice Bergeon and David Krejci retired, Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno hit free agency, and deadline acquisitions Dmitri Orlov, Tyler Bertuzzi and Garnet Hathaway weren’t re-signed. The Bruins have kept on humming, though, with veteran James van Reimsdyk posting 15 points so far and the team getting good contributions from rookie forwards Matthew Poitras and John Beecher, veteran forwards Morgan Geekie and Danton Heinen, and new defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Ohio State product Mason Lohrei.  

On the ice, Boston comes in having lost three of four, giving up 18 goals in that span in their first on-ice adversity of the campaign.  

Trending: Columbus is winless in the series the past two seasons, going a combined 0-3-3. The Blue Jackets’ last win in the series was a 3-0 shutout at Nationwide Arena on Jan. 14, 2020.  

Former CBJ: None 

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change) 

Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Kirill Marchenko  
Dmitri Voronkov – Adam Fantilli – Patrik Laine  
Yegor Chinakhov – Cole Sillinger – Alexandre Texier  
Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Justin Danforth  
Zach Werenski – Adam Boqvist  
Ivan Provorov – David Jiricek  
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson  
Elvis Merzlikins   
Spencer Martin 

Scratches: Mathieu Olivier, Andrew Peeke, Damon Severson (out approximately six weeks with an oblique injury as of Nov. 21) 

Injured reserve/Injured Non-Roster: Jack Roslovic (fractured ankle, out four to six weeks as of Nov. 13); Daniil Tarasov (knee, week to week)      

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets appeared to get through Sunday night’s game at Carolina without issue on the injury front, so we’ll see at the team’s morning media availability if any changes are in the offing.

3 Stats to Know  

• After a stretch of seven games with just one point, Johnny Gaudreau has notched two goals and three assists in the last five games.
• After notching four assists in Wednesday’s win vs. Chicago, Zach Werenski has 10 assists this month, tied for the most ever for a Blue Jackets defenseman in a month. He’s also tied for seventh among NHL blueliners with 14 assists on the season. 
• Milestone watch: Gaudreau is six points from 700 for his NHL career (234-460-694, 704 GP). 

Who’s Hot  

Boone Jenner had scored in three straight games, notching four goals in that time span, before last night’s contest. Now with 11 tallies on the season, he is tied for 14th in the NHL, just four off the league lead. … Zach Werenski has nine assists in the nine eight games. … Boone Jenner has 11 goals in the first 22 games of the season for the third time in his career (also 2015-16, 2021-22). … Both Adam Fantilli (10 points, tied for seven) and Dmitri Voronkov (nine points, tied for 10th) are among the top 10 rookies in the NHL in scoring. … Fantilli is also tied for fifth among NHL rookies in goals (four). … Columbus ranks first in the NHL penalty kill percentage since Oct. 20, killing off 48 of 52 (92.3 percent) power-play chances over the last 18 games.  

This Day in CBJ History  

Nov. 27, 2000: NHL veteran Alexander Selivanov signs with the Blue Jackets. He’d play 59 games in the team’s inaugural season, posting an 8-11-19 line.  

Nov. 27, 2001: Ron Tugnutt notches the first CBJ shutout of the season and his fifth in Blue Jackets colors, making 26 saves in a 3-0 blanking of Phoenix at Nationwide Arena. 

Nov. 27, 2015: Cam Atkinson beats Marc-Andre Fleury at 2:42 of overtime and the Blue Jackets take a 2-1 win against Pittsburgh in Nationwide Arena.