Adam Williams presents his prediction for the NHL match.
The Boston Bruins are set to begin their week at home in the TD Garden, where they will face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This promises to be an intriguing encounter as the Blue Jackets consistently provide tough competition, with the hosts managing only four regulation-time victories in their last 10 meetings.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins are in a period of reinvention. Firstly, they've lost a key defenseman in Hampus Lindholm (3+4), who sees nearly 21 minutes of ice time per game. To compensate, they've urgently called up Jordan Oesterle from the AHL, who was on waivers just last summer. Secondly, the coaching staff has retooled the bottom six forwards to revitalise the attack. Specifically, winger Georgii Merkulov and forward Riley Tufte have been introduced to the lineup. These moves are not out of luxury—instead, they’re a necessity: the Bruins are averaging a mere 2.47 goals per game, placing them 28th in the league for scoring.
Columbus Blue Jackets
It would be hard to find a team that’s had worse luck this month than the Blue Jackets. For November, they rank among the top three in shots on goal (34.6 per game), expected goals (xG) creation (4.03), and total high-danger scoring chances (112). Even in their last game against the Montreal Canadiens (1:5), played in a back-to-back, they deserved a better outcome and controlled 48.9% of the expected goals. The Canadiens pulled away in the third period, capitalising on errors by a fatigued Blue Jackets squad.
Boston Bruins vs Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction
We’re sure that the Boston Bruins won’t defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets, as they have only managed 5 regulation-time wins in 19 games this season (26%). Thus, we’re betting on the visitors.
