National Hockey League
Boston 5, Columbus 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 2, 2022
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees: Beau Halkidis, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Ben O'Quinn
Attendance: 17850

Erik Haula's second goal of the game - a power-play tally with 3:54 left in the third period - lifted the Boston Bruins to a 5-2 win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

Haula decided the sixth win in seven games for Boston (43-20-5, 91 points) by tipping home Brandon Carlo's shot from the top of the left circle. It was his second multi-goal game of the season.

Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle scored empty-net goals following Haula's game-winner, capping off Boston's three-goal third period.

Brad Marchand had a game-tying goal and two assists, DeBrusk had a goal and an assist, and Patrice Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy added two assists for the Bruins.

Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves, improving to 12-2-1 in his last 15 starts in Boston's net.

Justin Danforth and Gustav Nyquist scored for the Blue Jackets (32-32-5, 69 points), who have now lost six straight games.

Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins made 37 saves. Boston held a 42-24 shots on goal advantage, including 15-4 in the third period.

Just after Merzlikins robbed David Pastrnak with a pad save on the doorstep, Haula finished off a net-mouth scramble for the game's first goal at 15:09 of the first period.

Despite being outshot 15-5 in the opening frame, Columbus knotted the score with 27.3 seconds left as Nyquist buried a loose puck that popped out of Swayman's glove after an initial save on Cole Sillinger.

Danforth scored the second Blue Jacket goal in a span of 1:10 just 42 seconds into the middle frame, picking up the rebound of a Yegor Chinakhov shot that hit the outside of the net.

At the 18:13 mark of the second period, Marchand banged in the tying goal at the end of a tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Bergeron and DeBrusk.

The Bruins and Blue Jackets finish a home-and-home series Monday night in Columbus.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Columbus   Boston
Justin Danforth 1 Points Brad Marchand 3
Justin Danforth 1 Goals Erik Haula 2
Adam Boqvist 1 Assists Brad Marchand 2
N/A Power Play Goals Erik Haula 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Elvis Merzlikins .925 Save Percentage Jeremy Swayman .917
Elvis Merzlikins 37 Saves Jeremy Swayman 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Columbus 24 2 0-1 0-1 2 20
Boston 42 5 1-1 1-1 2 31
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Bruins have a W/L % of .538 after a win and .769 after a loss.
  • Columbus will play their next game at home against Boston. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .452 after a win and .485 after a loss.