3 Keys to Blue Jackets, Bruins Game 2

The Columbus Blue Jackets look to bounce back from an overtime game one loss to the Boston Bruins in game one of the series. The Blue Jackets came out of the gate slow in game one after a significant lay off. The Bruins were fresh off a game seven win over the Toronto Maple Leafs to advance to the next round. 

The second game of this series is set for Saturday night at 8 p.m. eastern time on NBC. Here are three keys to this pivotal game two.

1) Forecheck/Pressure: Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets tend to play their best hockey when they have a good forecheck game going and are physical with the opposition. In the first game, the team came out a little slow in this department and it cost them. They should try to hit a player on the Bruins every time that he has the puck to wear them them down since the Bruins just battled with the Maple Leafs for seven games. When the Blue Jackets are forced to dump and chase then they need to make sure that they can get some contact with the Bruins defensemen to wear them down.

2) David Krejci: Bruins

David Krejci was hit late in the first game and was unable to return to game one. The big question heading into game two is whether he will be available to play and, if not, who steps up to take his place in the lineup? Krejci has two goals, three assists and five points in eight games played in this postseason. He has been one of the Bruins better players, if not the best during this postseason. Krejci may not be the flashiest of players or the guy that shows up on the stat sheet every night, but he has been one of the more noticeable Bruins players.

3) Goaltending: Blue Jackets & Bruins

This series has a good chance of coming down to which team gets the better goaltending. Tuukka Rask has been good for the Bruins in the postseason. He has been keeping his team in games and giving them a chance to win. Sergei Bobrovsky had a shaky start to this postseason, but bounced back nicely to help his team win their first ever playoff series over the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning. These goalies have the ability to make the easy save and the highlight reel save, so it could come down to which team is able to get more traffic and deflections in front of the goalies.