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Bruins start four-game road trip vs. Blue Jackets

Dec 26, 2006 - 3:18 PM Boston (18-13-2) at Columbus (13-19-3) 7:00 pm EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Tim Thomas will see if the Boston Bruins can take the good times on the road.

Thomas and the Bruins aim to extend their winning streak to four games as they begin a four-game road trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Rebounding from a 4-7-2 start, Boston pulled five games over .500 at 18-13-2 with a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

The biggest reason for that turnaround has been Thomas, who turned aside 20 shots against the Canadiens to win his third straight start. He has allowed just four goals over that span.

The 32-year-old Thomas, who is 16-8-2 in 28 appearances this season, will now turn his sights toward the Blue Jackets, a team he has never faced in his brief career.

Also struggling early, Columbus has become a much better team since it hired Ken Hitchcock as coach on November 23, going 7-3-1 in its last 11 games.

Despite that stretch, the Blue Jackets have had some struggles on offense, getting shut out twice in their last three contests.

This is the first meeting between both teams this season. Boston is 3-1-1 all-time against Columbus, winning the previous meeting here during the 2003-04 season.