Sanford gets first start of season for Jackets

BOSTON -- For the first time since he suffered a groin injury in practice Oct. 17, Curtis Sanford will see game action for the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.

Sanford has played just one game so far this season -- a relief appearance Oct. 8 at Minnesota. He missed 11 games with the injury before he backed up Steve Mason in the Jackets' loss to the Wild Tuesday.

"We get a chance here for Curtis to finally get a game in," coach Scott Arniel said after his team's morning skate. "No bigger stage, obviously, against Boston. He's excited. He was pretty frustrated because he got hurt the day before his last start and we kept him away from too much work [Wednesday] so he'd be ready today. But if he can give us a spark, that's what we need."

The switch to Sanford in goal won't be the only change for the Jackets, who should have Derick Brassard back in the lineup after he was a healthy scratch for two straight games.

"He's a proud guy and he doesn't want to sit out games and I think that his game had slipped a bit. But Derick … he's a skilled guy that can make plays," Arniel said. "A team that's looking for offense, we can use him. If he plays hard and competes hard, that will go a long way toward him having success."

Here's a look at Columbus' projected lineup:

R.J. Umberger - Jeff Carter - Rick Nash
Vinny Prospal - Mark Letestu - Ryan Johansen
Antoine Vermette - Samuel Pahlsson - Derek Dorsett
Derek MacKenzie - Derick Brassard - Jared Boll

Marc Methot - James Wisniewski
Fedor Tyutin - Nikita Nikitin
John Moore - Grant Clitsome

Curtis Sanford
Steve Mason

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