Bruins at Blue Jackets preview

BRUINS (42-18-9) at BLUE JACKETS (38-28-3)
7 p.m. ET; FS-O, NESN, NHL.TV

The Bruins are 15-1-4 since Jan. 19 following a 4-2 loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. They're second in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, 17 points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Blue Jackets have been shut out three times in their past six games (2-4-0), including 2-0 at the New York Islanders on Monday. They're tied in points with the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, and four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first wild card and the Carolina Hurricanes for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Players to watch

Bruins forward David Krejci can extend his goal/point streak to five games (four goals, one assist).
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, who scored 16 goals last season, has nine but none in his past 30 games since scoring twice against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 31.

They said it

"We're playing a team that's ornery, coming off a loss. They'll be looking for offense, shooting a lot of pucks, perhaps getting back to the basics in order to get some offense." -- Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy
"We can't be frustrated from game to game, especially with the competition we're facing here the next couple of weeks. There's no room to be frustrated, just room for improvement." -- Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Danton Heinen
Peter Cehlarik -- David Krejci -- Charlie Coyle
Joakim Nordstrom -- Trent Frederic -- David Backes
Sean Kuraly -- Noel Acciari -- Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Brandon Carlo
John Moore -- Steven Kampfer
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched:None
Injured:Kevan Miller (upper body), Marcus Johansson (lung contusion), David Pastrnak (thumb), Matt Grzelcyk (upper body). Jake DeBrusk (foot)

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Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Ryan Dzingel -- Matt Duchene -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Nick Foligno -- Boone Jenner -- Josh Anderson
Brandon Dubinsky -- Alex Wennberg -- Riley Nash
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Markus Nutivaara -- David Savard
Scott Harrington -- Adam McQuaid
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched:Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak, Dean Kukan, Keith Kinkaid, Eric Robinson
Injured:Ryan Murray (upper body)

Status report

Kampfer replaces Grzelcyk after he was a healthy scratch the past 27 games. … Frederic was recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League. … Columbus did not hold a morning skate so there was no update on Jenner, who did not play Monday because of an illness.

Stat pack

Marchand has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) during a seven-game point streak. … The Blue Jackets are 20-9-1 following a loss.