Boston Bruins vs Columbus Blue Jackets: Game preview, predictions and odds | December 27, 2024

The Boston Bruins are on the road to play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Boston (19-13-4) is coming off a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Columbus (14-15-6) is coming off a 5-4 win over Montreal.

Bruins vs Blue Jackets: Head-to-head & key stats

• Boston is 26-11-0-5 all-time against Columbus
• The Bruins are 8-7-2 on the road
• The Blue Jackets are averaging 3.31 goals per game
• Boston is averaging 2.6 goals per game
• Columbus is allowing 3.6 goals per game
• The Bruins are allowing 3.02 goals per game
• The Blue Jackets are 10-4-3 at home

Boston Bruins vs Columbus Blue Jackets: Preview

Boston is on a two-game winning streak and firmly in a playoff spot. David Pastrnak leads the Bruins with 35 points, followed by Brad Marchand with 30 and Elias Lindholm with 18.

The Bruins will start Jeremy Swayman who's 12-10-3 with a 3.05 GAA and a .887 SV%. In his career against Columbus, he's 4-1 with a 2.91 GAA and a .895 SV%.

Columbus, meanwhile, is 2-2 in its last four games and will start Elvis Merzlikins who's 10-9-3 with a 3.13 GAA and a .889 SV%. In his career against Boston, he's 3-2-2 with a 2.38 GAA and a .930 SV%.

The Blue Jackets are led by Kirill Marchenko who has 37 points, Zach Werenski has 35 points, Sean Monahan has 31 points, and Kent Johnson has 20 points.

Bruins vs Blue Jackets: Odds & Prediction

Boston is a -162 favorite while Columbus is a +136 underdog with the over/under set at 6 goals.

The Bruins played well in its last two games but Columbus has been great at home while Merzlikins has played Boston well in his career. This will be a low-scoring game between two offenses that struggle to score at times.

Ultimately, Columbus should be able to edge out an upset win at home as the underdogs, backed by a good performance from Merzlikins.

Prediction: Blue Jackets 3, Bruins 1.

Bruins vs Blue Jackets: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Columbus ML (+136)

Tip 2: Under 6 goals (-108)

Tip 3: David Pastrnak 4+ shots on goal (-145)