Bruins close out Columbus, advance to conference finals
Tuukka Rask made 39 saves as the visiting Boston Bruins advanced to the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 2013 with a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 6 on Monday.
Boston took the best-of-7, second-round playoff series four games to two.
David Krejci collected a goal and an assist, and Marcus Johansson and David Backes scored 1:41 apart midway into the third period for Boston, which will face Carolina in the next round. The Bruins won two of the three regular-season meetings against the Hurricanes.
Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 26 shots for the Blue Jackets, who hit the post or crossbar on four occasions and went 0-for-4 on the power play before seeing their season come to an end.
Boston opened the scoring with 7:47 remaining in the second period, mere moments after a shot from Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk hit the crossbar. The puck caromed around the boards to Krejci, who unleashed a shot from the top of the right circle that sailed over the right pad and under the blocker of Bobrovsky.
The Bruins doubled the advantage at 8:58 of the third period, as Johansson weaved toward the middle of the ice before wristing a shot that handcuffed Bobrovsky. The two-time Vezina Trophy recipient was unable to corral the puck as it trickled over the goal line.
Boston added to the lead at 10:39 of the third when defenseman Torey Krug’s diagonal feed was redirected home at the
doorstep by Backes.
Columbus forward Josh Anderson exited the contest with 20 seconds remaining in the second period after he was jarred by Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who received a two-minute penalty for an illegal check to the head. Anderson returned to start the third period.
The Blue Jackets mustered two shots on the unsuccessful power play, and Matt Duchene’s point-blank chance on another man-advantage situation was denied by the stick of Rask. Defenseman Zach Werenski’s wrist shot from above the left circle rang the iron on the same power-play opportunity.
BLUES, STARS SQUARE OFF IN GAME 7 >> It’s a great debate before any Game 7:
Which team has the advantage? Does it even matter?
As the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars prepare for today’s winner-takeall deciding game of their Stanley Cup playoff secondround series, the easy theory would be the Blues have the upper hand.
It’s the Blues who should have all the momentum, having taken Sunday’s Game 6 by a 4-1 count. It’s the Blues who will play host for the series clincher, with their rabid fans ready to back them with a berth in the Western Conference final on the line.
However, the Blues have only won two of six home games so far this postseason — a stunning lack of home-ice success for a team
that’s one win away from reaching the Western Conference final.
“For me, it’s even,” Blues interim head coach Craig Berube said after Sunday’s season-saving performance. “We’re going into a Game 7. We’ve got to forget about this game, it’s over with and we’ve got to prepare for a tough Game 7. That’s the bottom line.”
Curiously, the last time either squad played a Game 7 was against each other. St. Louis defeated Dallas 6-1 in the 2016 second round — not that a game three years ago matters today.
“It’s exciting,” Stars captain Jamie Benn told NHL.com. “What a great opportunity in front of us, and for both teams, to go out there and battle it out for one game and winner take all.”