Boston Bruins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/4/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH

Where to watch: Bally Sports Ohio, NESN

DraftKings: Bruins -255, Blue Jackets +215

BetMGM: Bruins -250, Blue Jackets +190

Caesars: Bruins -238, Blue Jackets +200

Bruins: 43-20-5

Blue Jackets: 32-32-5

You’re not going to find a more enticing playoff race right now than what’s going on in the NHL’s Wild Card races. The Western Conference is already a weird one, but not as entertaining as the Eastern Conference, particularly with the Boston Bruins and the remainder of the Atlantic Division.

 

The Bruins, who will complete a home-and-home with the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Monday, enter this matchup 8-2-0 in their last 10 games. They have a clear grip on the first wild-card spot in the East. Them making the playoffs doesn’t seem like a problem considering they have a 7-point edge on the Washington Capitals for the second spot.

 

It’s the race between the 2-4 spots in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins have 91 points and trail the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning by two points and all three teams have played 68 games. In short, every game to this point is going to be a ridiculous one knowing that the two-time Stanley Cup champions could be a wild-card team and face Toronto in the first round, or Boston gets Carolina in the first round. There’s a lot to like here.

 

There’s also a lot to like with the Bruins winning 5-2 in the first leg of the home-and-home against the Blue Jackets on Saturday. Erik Haula scored two goals, and the Bruins broke a 2-2 tie in the third with three goals to get a win. Brad Marchand also scored his 31st goal of the season.

 

“We dug in deep for the third and got the job done,” Haula said. “We talked in between the second and third that it's going to come.”

 

That has never sounded like a more Erik Haula-type thing to say than that, and it’s really incredible that they ever put the man in front of a microphone. Try listening to him with the Vegas Golden Knights those first two years. You just had the sense he was one of the bigger self-centered people whenever they talked to him.

 

That’s besides the point. The Bruins are in the business of winning right now, and thanks to the goalie tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, that’s going to help them get there. I question Boston’s secondary scoring outside of the top six and they’ll need to be better in that realm, but that’s at least something to be excited about while the rest of the division is beating to avoid falling out of favor.

 

The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, are just trying to avoid falling completely out of obscurity. But the youth movement has begun in Columbus and with that is going to come with hardships like going 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. There’s really nothing more you can do with that, so it might be a while before the Blue Jackets get back to relevancy. Gustav Nyquist and Justin Danforth scored in that game and Elvis Merzlikins 37 saves doesn’t seem as impressive as it should be.

 

“They outplayed us for the majority of the game,” Danforth said. “We battled hard to stay in the game, but that's a detailed team and they're ready for the playoffs."

 

That notion is exactly right. They’re ready for the playoffs, while the Blue Jackets are ready for the lottery and trying to get to the playoffs in some capacity next year. Then again, you look at how that group fares in the rest of the Metropolitan Division and it doesn’t look like they’re going to be up there any time soon. Please continue to pray for them.

Normally I’d lean toward the underdog here with the home-and-home, especially if coming off a crazy loss like that. It seems like something I’d tend to with the home team, but I can’t help but think this is the time of the year where the teams in the playoff hunt tend to turn it on at the right time. Boston doesn’t want to be in the wild-card race facing Carolina or something of the ilk. Wins are at a premium right now, and I’d say that’s the reason to go with the Bruins. Bruins win 4-2

The Bruins are 14-3 this season after consecutive overs.

The Bruins are 20-14 this season after playing a home game.

The Blue Jackets are 9-10 off a road loss this season.

Bruins:

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk

Taylor Hall -- Erik Haula -- David Pastrnak

Trent Frederic -- Charlie Coyle -- Craig Smith

Nick Foligno -- Tomas Nosek -- Curtis Lazar

Hampus Lindholm -- Charlie McAvoy

Matt Grzelcyk -- Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort -- Mike Reilly

Jeremy Swayman

Blue Jackets:

Gustav Nyquist -- Jack Roslovic -- Patrik Laine

Jakub Voracek -- Cole Sillinger -- Oliver Bjorkstrand

Eric Robinson -- Sean Kuraly -- Justin Danforth

Emil Bemstrom -- Brendan Gaunce -- Yegor Chinakhov

Vladislav Gavrikov -- Andrew Peeke

Adam Boqvist -- Jake Bean

Dean Kukan -- Gavin Bayreuther

Elvis Merzlikins

Points: David Pastrnak -- 71

Goals: David Pastrnak -- 38

Assists: Brad Marchand -- 40

Goalie: Jeremy Swayman -- 20-9-3, 2.23 GAA, .920 SV%

Points: Patrik Laine -- 51

Goals: Patrik Laine -- 25

Assists: Jakub Voracek -- 44

Goalie: Elvis Merzlikins -- 22-18-5, 3.41 GAA, .902 SV%