x
Breaking News
More () »

Discipline will be key for Blue Jackets in Game 5 at Bruins

After taking seven penalties in a Game 4 loss, discipline will be key for the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 5 of their second-round series at the Boston Bruins.
Credit: Jay LaPrete
Columbus Blue Jackets players celebrate their goal against the Boston Bruins during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round series in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Tuesday, April 30, 2019.

The Columbus Blue Jackets kept themselves out of the penalty box for much of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and were solid in the penalty kill for much of the first three games against the Boston Bruins in the second round.

However, that was anything but the case in Game 4, as the Blue Jackets took seven penalties and gave up two power-play goals on the way to a 4-1 loss to the Bruins, which evened up the best-of-seven series at 2-2 heading into tonight’s Game 5 matchup at TD Garden in Boston.

“Too many penalties, obviously,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said after Game 4. “We don’t give ourselves a chance with that, but I thought we had a lot of good minutes in the game and I really liked what we looked like going into that third period.”

Alternate captain Boone Jenner added, “We can’t take that many penalties, for sure, obviously. I think we’ve got to tighten up a little bit defensively, and obviously, pare down some of their chances. Just took more penalties and have to be more disciplined.”

Credit: AP
Columbus Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

The Blue Jackets are working to limit the opportunities Boston gets with a man advantage in Game 5, as they look to take a 3-2 lead and put the Bruins on the brink of elimination coming back to Nationwide Arena in Columbus for Game 6 on Monday.

“We have a pretty good understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish on the power play,” Tortorella said. “They were good.

“I think it’s just stay out of the box a little bit more. Obviously, when you get a penalty, try to kill it off and take advantage of our power plays.”

Credit: Paul Vernon
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Matt Duchene is seen against the Pittsburgh Penguins during an NHL game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, March 9, 2019.

Although the Blue Jackets gave up several power-play opportunities, the Bruins made more than a few trips to the penalty box in Game 4.

The biggest difference in the chances between the teams is that the Blue Jackets failed to put any of their shots on goal past Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. The standout goaltender turned away all six of Columbus’ shots with the man advantage.

With the physicality in the series bound to ramp up as now it is a best-of-three, the Blue Jackets will look to take advantage of any and every chance they get at the Boston net.

“I thought when it was 2-1, we had a couple, more than a couple chances to tie the game, didn’t,” Tortorella said. “I thought Rask made some big plays at key times.

“The most frustrating part for me is the penalties because I felt like once we got going, we’d take another penalty. We kill those back-to-back penalties off, and I think we’re going to take off from there. Couldn’t score. Didn’t score. Had some chances to and we didn’t.”

Before You Leave, Check This Out