Need to Know: Bruins at Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS –– It is James Hagens time.

The 19-year-old forward, who signed his three-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday, will make his NHL debut on Sunday when the Boston Bruins face the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 6 p.m. puck drop at Nationwide Arena.

“He’s very excited. Hopefully, he’s going to have a good first game,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “Just probably keep it simple. It’s not going to be easy – I think that’s the message he just received. [Columbus] is in the hunt, they’re going to come out hard…They need to win those two games. That’s why he’s just got to keep it simple right from the start and then let his instinct and skill take over after that.”

Hagens is expected to be on the third line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov.

“Just because same age group. I think [Minten] and [Khusnutdinov] are guys who will take care of him. It should be fun for him,” Sturm said.  

The Bruins clinched their spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday. The group is currently in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 96 points.​

“There are a lot of different reasons, a lot of doubters starting probably when we started training camp. And we proved everyone wrong. I think that just goes to the group. Very proud of them, the way they worked all year long,” Sturm said. “The guys deserved everything, so good for them. Making the playoffs, and just the way they cared and they believed in our room to make a big push.”

There will, accordingly, be some other changes to the lineup. Charlie McAvoy, Pavel Zacha, Hampus Lindholm and Tanner Jeannot will sit, Sturm said. In their places, Lukas Reichel, Alex Steeves, Henri Jokiharju and Jordan Harris will draw in.

​“Guys are banged up, so that’s why we want to take that time right now before we’re going to get back to work tomorrow,” Sturm said.  

Sunday marks the third and final time the teams will meet this regular season; the B’s beat Columbus 4-3 on March 29 and 4-2 on Feb. 26. The Blue Jackets are still fighting for their playoff lives. They have 92 points, just outside third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Wait, There’s More

• Joonas Korpisalo will start in net for the Bruins. The goaltender was a third-round draft pick of the Blue Jackets in 2012 and spent eight years with the organization before eventually landing in Boston. Korpisalo has a 3.19 goals against average and a .892 save percentage through 30 games.

• Sean Kuraly played four seasons (2021-25) for his hometown Columbus team before signing as a free agent with the B’s in July. The 33-year-old forward has been the stalwart fourth-line center this season. Kuraly has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 80 games.

• Andrew Peeke was a second-round pick for the Blue Jackets in the 2016 NHL Draft. The 28-year-old defenseman was in Columbus for five seasons (2019-24) before getting traded to the Bruins. Peeke has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 75 games, and leads Boston with 130 blocked shots this season.

Opposing View

• The Blue Jackets are also playing in the second game of a back-to-back; they beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Saturday at Bell Centre. Former Bruin Charlie Coyle had two goals, and Boone Jenner, Kirill Marchenko and Sean Monahan also scored. Netminder Jet Greaves made 20 saves. Columbus has won two of its last five games ahead of Sunday’s matchup against Boston.

• Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets with 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists) through 73 games. The defenseman has three points (one goal, two assists) in his last three games. Werenski has been skating on the first pair with Dante Fabbro while averaging a team-high 26:34 of ice time per night.

• Columbus’ power play ranks 22nd in the league at 19.3%. Coyle – who spent seven years in Boston – is tied for most goals on the man advantage (7) with Dmitri Voronkov, who has been sidelined with injury. The Blue Jackets’ penalty kill is ranked 27th in the NHL at 76.1%.