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After clinching a playoff spot on Saturday, the Bruins’ depth showed up Sunday and delivered their first win since March 31.
The Boston Bruins (44-27-10) beat the Columbus Blue Jackets (40-29-12) on Sunday, snapping their five-game losing streak and bringing their road record back to .500. Sean Kuraly, a former Blue Jacket, had three points, while Henri Jokiharju and Mark Kastelic each had two.
Also, James Hagens picked up an assist in his NHL debut. He also led the team out for warmups, taking a quick rookie lap, which is something the Bruins did not do during the Chara/Bergeron days.
Marco Sturm was full of praise after the game, saying to NESN’s Andy Brickley, “I thought [Hagens] played great. I thought he didn’t make any mistakes. I also liked his linemates, I thought all three of them connected well.”
He added that he enjoyed watching and being part of Hagens’ first game in the NHL.
Hagens took 19 shifts and played for 13:08. He skated on a line with Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten; the average age of the line is 20.67.
“Yeah, they’re great players,” Hagens said about his linemates. “When you’re out on the ice with guys that have that much talent, and they’re that smart, they make your job easy.”
Sturm had them out there to protect a 3-2 lead with two minutes to play.
“Why is because he gave me a reason for it,” Sturm told reporters in Columbus. “So it’s not just because of, you know, his name and he’s a high pick, whatever it is. No, I put him out there because I trusted him. He and the whole line did a great job, so they deserved to be out there.”
The third line finished with a 10-8 advantage in shot attempts, along with two high-danger chances and 0.4 expected goals for. They only surrendered one high-danger chance and 0.2 expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The push came from the fourth line. They provided a spark last time the Bruins were in Columbus, when Mark Kastelic and Tanner Jeannot fought twice in an eight-second span.
Sean Kuraly scored his sixth goal of the season and second against his old team; he added two primary assists as well for his first three-point night since November 17, 2022.
“Yeah, you know, you just try and play well,” Kuraly said about playing his old team. “There’s a lot of really good teammates, good players, good guys in that room that I have a ton of respect for. They play hard, and you just play hard, and it feels good to be on the side that comes out on top.”
The fourth line did not have Tanner Jeannot; instead, it was Alex Steeves. They finished with a 10-6 advantage in shot attempts and scored twice.
Fourth line right wing Mark Kastelic had the game-winning goal with 9:38 to play in the third, scoring his 10th and hitting point No. 20 for the first time in his career.
Jeannot was not the only Bruin missing on Sunday; the team rested several regulars ahead of the playoffs. Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, and Viktor Arvidsson also did not play in Columbus.
That opened the door for Steeves, Mikey Eyssimont, Lukas Reichel, Jordan Harris, and Henri Jokiharju to return to the lineup.
And Jokiharju made an impact, scoring his second goal since March 31.
“It was a great win, first of all, you know, with a few guys out,” Sturm said after the game. “I’m also glad some guys got rewarded today. Guys like [Kastelic], you know, [Jokiharju], these guys, they put in a lot of work. So it’s nice to see.”
Kuraly was not the only former Blue Jacket to make an impact against his former team. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 33 shots, including six high-danger saves, and finished with a 1.44 goals saved above expected per Natural Stat Trick.
“We needed him,” Sturm said about Korpisalo. “He probably wanted the first goal back a little bit. I think he had it, and he lost it. But other than that, he was rock solid again. So, I’m glad to have a win here against his former team.”
The Bruins are back in the first wild card spot after the Senators lost in overtime on Sunday. They have one game left and control their seeding: a win guarantees them the top wild card spot, a loss leaves the possibility of a Senators jump.
They will face the New Jersey Devils (42-36-3) on Tuesday night at the TD Garden for their last game of the regular season.
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The post Depth Delivers: Breaking Apart Bruins Win Over Blue Jackets appeared first on Boston Hockey Now.
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