OK, so it wasn’t a perfect night for the Boston Bruins.
Colin Miller accidentally scored into his own net off a faceoff, but by then the Bruins were comfortably ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and all that own goal did was make the score look a tad bit more respectable for the visitors.
It happens. Just ask Loui Eriksson.
The gaffe didn’t matter. The Bruins won for the fourth time in the past six games, defeating the Blue Jackets 5-2. They erupted for four goals in just over four minutes in the first period, chasing Sergei Bobrovsky from the net.
Thursday’s game featured an intriguing goalie match-up, with Bobrovsky facing Tuukka Rask, who is having a great start to his season. He’s been a major reason why the Bruins currently hold a playoff spot, although there is plenty of hockey remaining on their schedule.
A goalie duel never materialized. Bobrovsky was pulled before the game was even 13 minutes old and Rask faced only 17 shots, ending the Blue Jackets’ point streak at five games.
Rask is now 8-1-0 this season -- not to mention a .938 save percentage -- for a Bruins team that had dealt with injuries to their goalies, including back-up Anton Khudobin, early on.
There was good news on that front following Thursday’s game. Per the Bruins, Khudobin will travel with the team on its upcoming three-game road trip.