COLUMBUS –– It is one other day, one other sport for the Boston Bruins.
After beating the Minnesota Wild 6-3 on Saturday at TD Garden, the B’s will skate within the second night time of a back-to-back on Sunday at Nationwide Arena towards the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 5 p.m. puck drop marks the second of three conferences between the groups this common season; Boston earned a 4-2 win over Columbus on Feb. 26.
The Blue Jackets are additionally within the thick of the playoff race within the Eastern Conference. Columbus sits within the second wild-card spot with 87 factors; Boston is within the first wild-card spot with 90 factors.
“I feel like the tighter it gets, the more excited my guys are getting, too. That’s a good sign,” head coach Marco Sturm stated. “Guys are feeling very comfortable.”
Jeremy Swayman will begin in web for the Bruins. It is the primary time this season the goaltender will play in each video games of a back-to-back. He made 31 stops towards the Wild on Saturday, and has a 2.72 targets towards common and a .908 save share by means of 49 video games.
“There are a few reasons. First of all, he’s been outstanding. 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. Another big one tonight. So, we feel really good and confident he can bring us another two points here in a tough building,” Sturm stated of Swayman. “He didn’t expect anything else. That’s him. He’s a competitive guy; he wants the big moments. I feel like, too, all season long, we gave him all those big moments, and he was great.”
Henri Jokiharju will enter the lineup instead of Mason Lohrei, who’s coping with an upper-body harm, Sturm stated. The defenseman might be on the second pair with Hampus Lindholm. Jokiharju final performed on Tuesday towards the Toronto Maple Leafs, logging an help in that sport.
“It has been going on for a while, just got worse,” Sturm stated of Lohrei. “He’s been playing really good, he was just not 100%. Hopefully it’s not longer, just day by day and go from there.”
Sturm stated there would even be some changes to the Bruins’ energy play, which has been trying to regain its consistency.
“Today we’re going to switch it up a little bit and see if that helps,” he stated. “Two different units are going to be out there today. See if that works. Just try to get something out of the boys and get a little bit of the spark because that’s been a huge part of our game. We need that back.”
