The Columbus Blue Jackets outshot the Boston Bruins 40-23, dominated the first period, and still walked out of TD Garden empty-handed. A seven-game winning streak is over, and the man who ended it used to be one of their own.
Joonas Korpisalo, who spent eight years in Columbus before being traded to Ottawa and then to Boston in exchange for Linus Ullmark, was nothing short of spectacular — stopping 36 of 38 shots, including 19 of 20 in a first period the Blue Jackets thoroughly controlled.
A Perfect Start That Deserved More
Columbus wasted no time announcing itself. Just 4:32 in, Mason Marchment threaded a stretch pass up the middle that deflected off Charlie McAvoy’s stick and continued straight to Kirill Marchenko, who took it in on a clean breakaway and beat Korpisalo with a wrist shot under the blocker. It was Marchenko’s 20th goal of the season — hitting that mark for the fourth straight year, joining R.J. Umberger as the only players in franchise history to open their Blue Jackets careers with four consecutive 20-goal seasons.
The Blue Jackets owned the rest of the period. They finished the frame with a 20-10 shot advantage, including a 2-on-1 that Korpisalo denied brilliantly on Adam Fantilli. Columbus should have been up two or three goals. They were up one. That margin — one measly goal — against a goaltender playing the game of his night would prove to be the entire story.
Boston tied it at 15:51 on a fortunate bounce. Viktor Arvidsson fired from the right wall and the puck deflected off Isac Lundestrom’s stick and past Elvis Merzlikins. Not a goal Columbus could have done much about, but it stung all the same. After 20 minutes of domination, the Jackets had nothing to show for it.
The Second Period Turns on a Collision
Columbus entered the second still in control, but that changed in a moment nobody wanted. Miles Wood drove hard to the net and his left shoulder caught Korpisalo in the head. The veteran goaltender went to the ice and was escorted off for concussion baseline testing. Michael DiPietro came on in his place.
Wood was called for goaltender interference, and Boston didn’t waste the man advantage. With Korpisalo still in the dressing room, Morgan Geekie — set up by David Pastrnak — buried a short-side blast to make it 2-1. Geekie’s 33rd of the season, tying his career best.
Korpisalo returned at 12:16, apparently none the worse for wear. DiPietro, who made two saves during his brief appearance, summed it up with a laugh: “He seemed fine skating off and I was glad it was quick. He played a fantastic game. I was happy I didn’t screw it up for the boys.”
The Jackets went to the second intermission trailing by one but still very much alive.
The Third: So Close, Not Enough
Columbus came out pressing in the third. Fantilli hit the post early — the kind of moment that in hindsight feels like a sign. Then at 11:15, Sean Kuraly — a Dublin, Ohio native who spent four years with the Blue Jackets before returning home to Boston — scored his first career goal against his former club to make it 3-1. Cruel timing, and a 3-1 lead that felt far more comfortable for the Bruins than the game warranted.
But Columbus refused to fold. At 13:45, Fantilli drifted into the high slot uncontested and ripped a wrist shot off the post and in — 3-2 with 6:15 left. The building tightened. Zach Werenski, fresh off winning Olympic gold with Team USA, had a chance to tie it from the left side, but Korpisalo flashed his pad to shut the door. It was that kind of night for the Finnish goaltender.
The Blue Jackets pulled Merzlikins with two minutes left. David Pastrnak iced the puck twice, going for the empty net before Arvidsson finally sealed it with 33 seconds remaining. Final: 4-2.
| Stat | Columbus Blue Jackets | Boston Bruins |
| Goals | 2 | 4 |
| Shots on Net | 40 | 23 |
| Power Play | 0/1 | 1/3 |
| Faceoff % | 41.2% | 58.8% |
| Hits | 24 | 20 |
| Giveaways | 18 | 15 |
| Takeaways | 6 | 8 |
| Blocked Shots | 11 | 20 |
What It Means
Columbus was 11-1-0 in its last 12 games heading into Boston. Rick Bowness’s Blue Jackets had transformed from a last-place team into a genuine wild-card contender since he took over on January 12, going 10-1-0 under his watch before Thursday. None of that changed with this loss. The Jackets are 29-21-7 and still very much in the race.
But the gap to Boston widened. The Bruins now lead Columbus by six points for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot, with Washington four points back of Boston. The Bruins and Blue Jackets will meet twice more — March 29 and April 12, both in Columbus. Those games just got a lot more important.
“We had more than enough scoring chances in that game,” coach Bowness said. “We dominated the first. We dominated the third and the second was even. That game did not get away from us. We played hard. We played well, and if we play like that, we’ll get the results.”
He’s right. Columbus outshot Boston 40-23, won the faceoff circle at 56.8%, and still lost. On most nights, that performance wins the game. Thursday night, it ran into Korpisalo — and that was the difference.
My Observations
Thursday night in Boston was the kind of loss that stings precisely because Columbus earned a better result. Forty shots on net, a dominant first period, a furious third-period push — and nothing to show for it. On most nights in the NHL, outshooting your opponent 40-23 wins the game. This was not most nights.
The 5% shooting percentage tells the real story. Columbus created volume, created chances, and simply could not beat Korpisalo when it mattered. Fantilli hitting the post early in the third, Werenski’s denied shot with the game at 3-2 — those are the moments that decide tight games, and they all went Boston’s way.
The power play remains a concern. Columbus went 0-for-1 Thursday, and while one opportunity is a small sample, the Jackets have now gone four of their last six games without a power-play goal. Against playoff-caliber teams, that margin cannot be surrendered.
The good news is that nothing about this loss suggests a team trending in the wrong direction. The Blue Jackets are 29-21-7, very much alive in the wild-card race, and Rick Bowness has built something real since taking over in January. One bad shooting night does not erase that.
Next up: Columbus returns home Saturday to host the New York Islanders — a team now sitting at 71 points after winning last night, six points ahead of the Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division. This is no easy task, and with the wild-card race tightening by the day, the Jackets cannot afford to let one disappointing night in Boston become two.
