PREVIEW: Blue Jackets return to Nationwide Arena to host Boston

BLUE JACKETS (22-16-8) vs. BRUINS (27-8-12)

The 3-1 trip improved Columbus to 11-2-4 in its last 17 games, firmly planting the Blue Jackets back in the playoff picture. But that's not something head coach John Tortorella is thinking about as the team heads home for a stretch of four home games in five contests heading into the All-Star break.
"It's not about the playoffs for me right now," Tortorella said Monday. "I'm not looking at five games (before the break). I'm looking at tomorrow night's game against a very good Boston team. The way I'm looking at it, I want our road trip to stand up by finding a way to come home and win your first home game."

It will be no easy task considering Boston is one of the best teams in the NHL, but the Blue Jackets have to like the way they've been playing, including a 2-1 overtime victory in Beantown against the Bruins on Jan. 2.
The stretch run into the All-Star festivities will allow the Blue Jackets to build on momentum coming off the successful road trip. Columbus hosts the Bruins on Tuesday followed by two home games against Metropolitan Division rivals in Carolina (Thursday) and New Jersey (Saturday). Then comes a Sunday road game at the New York Rangers before another home game Wednesday against Winnipeg.
The setup is similar to a five-game stretch going into Christmas that included three home games for the Blue Jackets. Columbus won all five of those games to go into the holiday on a high note.
"We always talk about the games right before the break, how important those games are to get points in the bank," Jones said. "We did a good job before Christmas. This is another week and a half here at home that is going to be even more important for us to keep clawing our way back into the playoff race and get up there with those other teams in our division.
"It's nice we're at home now from a pretty good trip, and hopefully we can win some games in front of our fans."
The Blue Jackets will have to shore up a few issues from the trip, including a trio of slow starts against the California teams, but the team is continuing to ride the momentum it has established over the past 17 games.
The key throughout has been a cliché but one that the team has lived by.
"Just take it one day at a time," Tortorella said. "It's nothing miraculous. We're just trying to take it one game at a time. They should feel good about their trip, though."
Know the Foe
Boston comes to town third in the NHL with 66 points after last night's shootout loss at Philadelphia, with the Bruins just a point behind Washington and St. Louis. The team's eight regulation losses are an NHL low, and Boston enters in the top 10 in the NHL in goal scoring (3.38 per game, seventh in NHL), team defense (2.51 goals allowed per game, second), power play (28.0 percent, second) and penalty killing (83.5 percent, fifth).
Defense has been a key to the season for the Bruins, who have allowed just 75 goals at 5-on-5 in 47 games and are third in the NHL in expected goals allowed per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (2.01). The goaltending duo of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak has been fantastic, with Rask (17-4-6, 2.27 GAA, .925 save percentage) likely getting the start after Halak started Monday in Philadelphia.
The top line also has been one of the best in the NHL with the trio of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron creating as much offense as any line in the league. Pastrnak is five goals clear of anyone else in the league with 36 this year, and his 66 points are tied for fifth in the NHL. Marchand, meanwhile, has a 20-43-63 line that places him third in the NHL in assists and sixth in points. Bergeron adds a 19-20-39 line.
David Krejci is having another Krejci-esque season, with 11 goals, 32 points and a plus-19 rating. Torey Krug is the top-scoring defenseman with five goals and 26 assists for 31 points, including 19 points on the power play to tie him for first in the NHL among defensemen in that category. Jake DeBrusk adds 14 goals, while Dublin native Sean Kuraly has a 3-13-16 line in 47 games
The Bruins lead the NHL with 12 overtime losses, and the team has battled through injuries as well. Defensemen Connor Clifton and Kevan Miller are out, and Matt Grzelcyk has been banged up, though he did suit up against the Flyers.
3 Keys to the Game
Handle the top line: The Blue Jackets kept the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak trio in check in Boston, and this time Columbus will have the last change as well. They should see a steady diet of Jones and Zach Werenski as well as some shifts against David Savard and Vladislav Gavrikov.
Stay patient: The Bruins just don't give you much offensively, and Columbus can't open up and allow Boston to get transition chances. The Blue Jackets were patient in the game in Boston, sticking with the plan and eventually getting a tying goal in the third period before winning in OT.
Everyone on board: The win in Boston might have been Columbus' best performance of the season, with each player doing his part to get the win. The same has to happen at home this time around.
Of Note
Elvis Merzlikins has stopped 215 of 228 shots (.943 save percentage) in the past seven games, going 5-2-0. … Werenski has 12-10-22 with a plus-12 rating in his last 23 games as well as nine goals in 13 games since returning from injury. He has five goals in his last two home games. … Pierre-Luc Dubois has a 5-11-16 line in his last 15 games. … Tortorella is two wins from 200 as Blue Jackets head coach. … Columbus will play four straight against Eastern Conference opponents and 14 of 16. The Jackets are 15-7-5 this year vs. Eastern foes. … The Blue Jackets have outscored foes 19-9 in its last six home games while going 4-1-1. … Columbus is 8-4-4 in the last 16 games vs. Boston. The teams complete the three-game season series March 16 in Boston.
Projected Lineup
(Subject to change)
Sonny Milano - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Emil Bemstrom
Gustav Nyquist - Boone Jenner - Nick Foligno
Nathan Gerbe - Alex Wennberg - Kevin Stenlund
Jakob Lilja - Riley Nash - Eric Robinson
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Vladislav Gavrikov - David Savard
Scott Harrington - Markus Nutivaara
Elvis Merzlikins
Matiss Kivlenieks
Scratches: Ryan MacInnis, Gabriel Carlsson, Joonas Korpisalo (injury)
Roster Report: The Blue Jackets have kept the same lineup for the past four games and will do so against Boston, something that seemed impossible a little while back when the injury bug hit the team. Three players on injured reserve -- forwards Cam Atkinson and Oliver Bjorkstrand and defenseman Andrew Peeke -- skated with the team Monday, but will not return, Tortorella said Tuesday morning.
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