Blue Jackets at Bruins preview

BLUE JACKETS (39-28-5) at BRUINS (45-17-8)
7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, NESN, FS-O, NHL.TV

The Blue Jackets' seven-game winning streak is their longest since they won 16 in a row from Nov. 29, 2016 to Jan. 3, 2017. They are two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the division with one game in hand, and one point ahead of the New Jersey Devils for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Forward Ryan Donato, Boston's second-round pick (No. 56) in the 2014 NHL Draft who left Harvard after his junior season to sign his first pro contract Sunday, will make his NHL debut for the Bruins, who have won eight of their past 10 games. The Bruins trail the Tampa Bay Lightning by four points for first in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand.

Players to watch

Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his past seven games.
Bruins forward Brad Marchand has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his past eight games.

They said it

"We don't have a game plan for with [Jones] in and a game plan with [Jones] out. It's the next guy up and you play. Obviously, you put guys in [Jones'] spot on the power play and the penalty kill and it adds to people's responsibilities, but that's all. We don't change our concept or our thinking, we just play."-- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on playing without injured defenseman Seth Jones
"It's a whirlwind experience obviously. Right now, it's pretty crazy. Obviously, I'm really excited and obviously it's something I don't want to happen too fast so I can cherish every second of it, and right now it's a lot of fun." -- Bruins forward Ryan Donato

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Sonny Milano -- Nick Foligno -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Boone Jenner -- Alex Wennberg -- Thomas Vanek
Matt Calvert -- Brandon Dubinsky -- Mark Letestu
Zach Werenski -- Ryan Murray
Jack Johnson -- Markus Nutivaara
Ian Cole -- David Savard
Joonas Korpisalo
Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratched: Taylor Chorney, Scott Harrington, Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak, Dean Kukan
Injured: Josh Anderson (knee), Seth Jones (upper body)

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Riley Nash -- David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen -- David Krejci -- Rick Nash
Ryan Donato -- Noel Acciari -- Brian Gionta
Tim Schaller -- Sean Kuraly -- Tommy Wingels
Torey Krug -- Adam McQuaid
Matt Grzelcyk -- Kevan Miller
Nick Holden -- Brandon Carlo
Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin
Scratched: None
Injured:Zdeno Chara (upper body), Jake DeBrusk (upper body), Patrice Bergeron (fractured foot), Charlie McAvoy (sprained MCL), David Backes (leg laceration)

Status report

Jones didn't skate and will miss his second straight game. ... Bergeron has started skating but will miss his 11th straight game.

Stat pack

Jenner has six points (four goals, two assists) during an NHL career-high five-game point streak. ... Pastrnak has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his past nine games.