Perhaps it’s time to wonder just what was in the Thanksgiving dishes served to the Bruins.
Wrapping up a three-in-four out of Thanksgiving Day, the Bruins once again fell in ugly fashion, this time with a 5-2 loss to the Blue Jackets in Columbus. It was actually worse than the final score indicated, really, as the Blue Jackets jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Matt Poitras put the Bruins on the board with a third-period strike.
For the Bruins, it’s a three-game stretch that’s seen the Bruins outscored by a staggering 17-8 mark, and it’s the Black and Gold’s first stretch of three straight regulation defeats since the 2021-22 season.
No. 3 Star: Boone Jenner
Nov 22, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner (38) celebrates his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the first period at Nationwide Arena. (Russell LaBounty/USA TODAY Sports)
An under the radar talent, Boone Jenner certainly helped set the tone in this game, as the Columbus captain delivered six of the Blue Jackets’ 17 hits in the victory. Jenner also factored in on the scoring in this one, with two helpers, including the primary assist on the Kirill Marchenko power-play goal that put the Jackets up by four and helped tuck the B’s into bed early in the third period of this contest.
No. 2 Star: Spencer Martin
Nov 27, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Spencer Martin (30) makes a blocker save during the first period against the Boston Bruins at Nationwide Arena. (Russell LaBounty/USA TODAY Sports)
I don’t think the Jackets’ Spencer Martin had the hardest night, to be honest. (I think the Bruins could’ve made his night a whooooooole lot harder than they did, especially with what felt like a billion shots that missed the net and failed to land on goal.) But Martin made the saves he needed to — 31 of them, to be exact — while the Jackets continued to build on their lead, and that counts for something.
Martin entered this game with just one win in seven decisions this season, but he earned his second victory behind a 31-of-33, while his season save percentage jumped from .898 to .903.
No. 1 Star: Yegor Chinakhov
Nov 27, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Yegor Chinakhov (59) scores a goal of the shot against the Boston Bruins during the second period at Nationwide Arena. (Russell LaBounty/USA TODAY Sports)
Have yourself a night, Yegor Chinakhov.
On the board with an assist on the Blue Jackets’ game-opening goal in the first period, it was Chinakhov who truly broke this game open for Columbus when he pounced on a Matt Grzelcyk misplay just inside the Columbus blue line and sprung himself for a breakaway goal on the Bruins’ Linus Ullmark.
Chinakhov scores a breakaway beauty and Columbus takes a 3-0 lead over Boston 😳 pic.twitter.com/c6PmntvXB9
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 28, 2023Beyond the two points, good things seemed to happen for the Blue Jackets when Chinakhov was on the ice, as the Blue Jackets held a 12-7 edge in shots and 3-0 scoring advantage during Chinakhov’s 11:16 of five-on-five deployment, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Talk about being efficient.
