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Bruins aim to build momentum in Columbus

Dec 27, 2014 - 4:25 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Boston Bruins hope to continue building momentum when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets in Saturday's battle at Nationwide Arena.

Boston won its last two games prior to the NHL's brief break for Christmas and it enters tonight having gained points in five of its last six games.

Tonight's matchup gives Boston an excellent opportunity to post its first three-game winning streak since Nov. 15-21. The Bruins have dominated the Blue Jackets over the years and have won the last seven meetings in this series.

Columbus, which hasn't defeated the Bruins since Jan. 21, 2010, lost a 4-3 shootout decision against visiting Boston on Nov. 21. It was the Blue Jackets' fourth straight home loss in this matchup.

Boston went 2-0 on its recent homestand and completed the perfect stay at TD Garden with Tuesday's 5-3 win over Nashville. Brad Marchand and Loui Eriksson each scored twice to lead the Bruins' offense, while Tuukka Rask made 22 saves for the win.

David Krejci also lit the lamp for the Bruins, who avenged a 3-2 shootout loss in Nashville on Dec. 16.

"It was good, I think it was good to see glimpses of how we know we can play and we know it's still in here," said Marchand.

The victory pushed Boston's home record to 11-6-2. The B's are just 7-8-1 on the road.

Rask boasts a 4-1-0 record and 1.56 goals against average in his career against Columbus and is expected to start again tonight.

The Blue Jackets are hoping to rebound from their first regulation defeat of the month when they take the ice Saturday in the fourth part of a five-game homestand.

Columbus entered Tuesday's game against Nashville with an 8-0-1 record in December, but the hosts fell 5-1 to the Predators. It was the Jackets' second loss in three games after beginning the month with seven straight victories.

Jackets netminder Sergei Bobrovsky was blitzed for four goals on 30 shots before being pulled in the third period. Curtis McElhinney stopped four of the five shots he faced in the game's final 12 minutes.

Alexander Wennberg produced a late tally for the Blue Jackets, who fell to 7-9-2 as the home team.

"We're disappointed because we hung our goalie out to dry," Jackets winger Nick Foligno said. "We let them dictate play. If you allow them to take over games, you'll be playing catch-up. That's what happened."

Backup Curtis McElhinney is expected to start tonight over Bobrovsky. He is 0-2-0 with a 3.04 GAA in two career outings against the Bruins.

There is also a chance winger Scott Hartnell could return from a broken finger tonight. Hartnell, who missed the last five games, skated a few times last week and is questionable for Saturday. The veteran forward has six goals and 11 assists in 28 games during his first season with the Jackets.

Columbus will complete its homestand Wednesday against Minnesota before beginning January on a four-game road trip.