BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Blue Jackets 4 (SO) - Bruins outlast Columbus in shootout; end road trip with 10 points

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-4 shootout win over the Blue Jackets, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES 

Bruins survive and advance in Columbus

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but two points are still two points at the end of the night.

Despite relinquishing a tying goal with just 1.8 seconds left in regulation, the Bruins didn’t let a late surge from the Blue Jackets knock them to the mat, with David Pastrnak scoring the lone goal in the shootout round to lift Boston to a 5-4 victory over Columbus on Saturday night. 

With the win, the Bruins close out their six-game road trip with 10 out of a possible 12 points — with their lone loss in Anaheim featuring a similar ending as this one. 

Clinging to a slim, one-goal lead in the closing minute of play, the Bruins made things harder on themselves via a Nick Foligno penalty, granting Columbus an extra skater in crunch time. Despite Jeremy Swayman’s Grade-A stop against Patrik Laine, Jakub Voracek lit the lamp just before time expired to force extra play.

Far from ideal, but thanks to Pastrnak’s nifty tally and Swayman turning aside all three shots that came his way in the shootout, it was enough for Boston to escape Nationwide Arena with two points.

It ain’t always going to be pretty - but focus on positives

Of course, we can comb over some of the flaws in what was a pretty ugly win in Ohio — be it Swayman looking mortal in net for the first time in a long time (20 saves on 24 shots) or Boston once again not locking things down in the final minute of play. 

But as far as Swayman goes, the Bruins will certainly take one iffy game if he’s posting a .970 save percentage over the previous few weeks, and the rookie netminder seemed destined to come back down to earth a bit. The most important thing moving forward, as always, is seeing how a young goalie bounces back. So far, that hasn’t been an issue for Swayman. 

And yes, while the Bruins sure made things difficult on themselves late, it’s tough to characterize this road trip as anything but a resounding success. 

Be it Swayman’s ascension as Boston’s No. 1 netminder, Jake DeBrusk raising his trade value or a number of depth pieces breaking through on the scoresheet, the Bruins have to be pleased with how everything seems to be coming together.

In total, 16 different Bruins players recorded at least one point over this six-game stretch, with 12 of those players recording three or more points. Not too shabby.  

Nick Foligno returns to Columbus 

Saturday’s contest was marked by a number of reunions held out on the ice, with Nick Foligno making his first trek to Nationwide Arena after serving as captain of the Blue Jackets from 2015 to 2021. 

Of course, Rick Nash’s jersey retirement ceremony headlined most of the pomp and circumstance on the evening, but Columbus also gave Foligno a video tribute and standing ovation during the first period of play.

Foligno, who was coveted by Boston during the offseason due to his off-ice intangibles and leadership, played a key role in establishing a winning culture in Columbus during his tenure as captain, with those efforts carrying over to a Blue Jackets club that, even with an overhauled roster, seems to be on track for success sooner rather than later. 

"I think we did it together," Foligno said of the culture created during his time with Columbus. "That was what I enjoyed the most was we had that culture in that room, a lot like what goes on in here (with Boston) with the guys that we went to work with every day and tried to get better and push and get this organization to a place where it was respected and was hard to come in and play the Columbus Blue Jackets. I'm really proud of that.  

"You never think about it at the time but if that's what they're saying then we obviously did our job. I look forward to seeing how they're gonna carry it on…a sign of good leadership is did you prepare the next wave to do their job as well.  "And I think you're seeing that with the way (Boone Jenner) has led and Zach Werenski's I'm sure stepped up and a few more guys… did you leave it better than when you found it? And hopefully we did that."

Of course, things could have ended terribly for Foligno after his late penalty opened the door for Voracek's equalizer. But Boston still managed to escape with the win. 

FOUR UP

Jake DeBrusk: DeBrusk’s stock continues to soar. After a quiet couple of games, DeBrusk got back on the scoresheet with a deflection tally in the first period. The winger is now up to eight goals and 10 total points in his last eight games. 

Erik Haula: I’m still holding firm on my stance that the Bruins still need to acquire a legit top-six center ahead of the March 21 deadline, but Haula is doing his best to dismantle my argument. The B’s pivot closed out this six-game road trip with eight points (three goals, five points), with the forward firing a shot that slipped past Elvis Merzlikins in the second period to tie the game up at 2-2 at the time. 

Craig Smith: As we noted following Smith’s hat-trick performance in Vegas on Thursday, it sure seemed like we were overdue for a trademark scoring heater from the shot-first winger. Smith continued his strong play on Saturday, burying his fourth goal in two games off of a rush chance with Connor Clifton. With Smith starting to find the back of the net, this B’s third line is now finally starting to cash in on the many chances it's generating.

Patrice Bergeron: Another captain-like performance from Bergeron, who gave his team a (temporary) lead with just over five minutes to go in regulation with a power-play tally. Good to see Boston leave Columbus with at least something to write home about on what has been a slumping power-play unit.

TWO DOWN

Jeremy Swayman: After an absurd stretch in net, Swayman did manage to come back down to earth a bit in this one — with Columbus burying their chances off of rebounds and tallies that the B’s netminder will likely want back. Still, the rookie did make a couple of ten-bell saves and escaped with two points. Boston will definitely take it. 

Brandon Carlo and Boston's defense: Rough night in the D-zone for Carlo. Along with being caught in a spin cycle on Vladislav Gavrikov’s tally in the final minute of the first, Carlo was knocked for a couple of ugly turnovers in Boston’s own end as the game progressed. Needs to be cleaner there — as do a couple of other B's blueliners. Some poor gaps and bad miscues from a number of Boston's D corps. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

LOOSE PUCKS

Good to see Rick Nash become the first Blue Jackets player to get his jersey retired. A fitting tribute for a truly dominant player during his prime. It was a shame that concussion issues plagued his short tenure with Boston back in the spring of 2018, because the Bruins were envisioning the veteran wing as a long-term fixture next to David Krejci during this contention window.

Alas, what could have been. 

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now return to TD Garden for a three-game homestand, starting with a matchup against the L.A. Kings on Monday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.