Bruins Vs. Blue Jackets: Tuukka Rask Says 'A Win Is Always A Win'

BOSTON - Tuukka Rask pushed aside those pesky trade rumors, including the ones relating the team he faced on Thursday night, to stop 31 shots - including two-of-three stops in a shootout - to lead the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 shootout victory over the worst team in the NHL, the Columbus Blue Jackets, at TD Garden.

Neither team scored in the first or third periods, with the only two tallies in regulation coming in the first half of the second period. Derek MacKenzie scored on a power play at 2:49 and Adam McQuaid answered with a score at 4:24. Despite the all-around sloppy play for both teams, Rask is happy with a win - any way he can get one.

"A win is always a win, no matter how you get it" said Rask. "Today, we definitely didn't play our best hockey, and we saw that."

Rask recognized the slower pace of the game, acknowledging the eventless beginning of the game.

"It was kind of a slow start," he said. "We had less than ten shots halfway through the game, pretty much."

Boston finished the game with 27 shots while Columbus recorded 31 shots in the losing effort.

For more Boston Bruins coverage, visit our team page and blog, Stanley Cup Of Chowder.

Bruins 2 , Blue Jackets 1 (SO): Peverley, Krejci Lift B's To Victory

BOSTON - Rich Peverley and David Krejci scored consecutively in a shootout as the Boston Bruins edged the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1, in a shootout on Thursday night at TD Garden.

Tyler Seguin opened the shootout with a miss, but Rick Nash was stopped by Tuukka Rask (31 saves) on the other end. Peverley scored his goal against Blue Jackets goalie Curtis Sanford (27 saves) but Mark Letestu answered with Columbus' first goal of the shootout. Krejci scored to give the Bruins the advantage and Antoine Vermette's shot was stopped.

Columbus (3-13-2) opened the scoring on Derek MacKenzie's power play goal (his third of the season) on assists from Nikita Nikitin just 2:49 into the second period. Adam McQuaid answered with a goal for Boston (10-7-0), finding the back of the net for an unassisted goal with 4:24 remaining in the middle period.

Boston travels to the Big Apple to face the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

For more Boston Bruins coverage, visit our team page and blog, Stanley Cup Of Chowder.

Bruins Vs. Blue Jackets: Boston, Columbus Tied 1-1 In Second Period

The Columbus Blue Jackets have skated into the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, to try and get back into the win column against the red-hot Bruins on Thursday night.

Following two periods of action, both teams are deadlocked at one apiece.

The opening frame went scoreless as both teams were playing stingy defense; however, the Blue Jackets drew first blood just two minutes into the second stanza when Columbus forward Derek MacKenzie (assisted by Nikita Nikitin and Grant Clitsome) scored on the power play with a 28-foot tip-in.

That didn’t sit well with Boston defenseman Adam McQuaid, who wristed one in less than two minutes later to make it one-all.

The Bruins head into a deadlocked third period with a six game winning streak on the line (9-7-0 overall) while the Blue Jackets are trying to improve on their ugly 3-13-1 start.

Stay tuned to SB Nation Boston for more Bruins updates as they become available.

Bruins Vs. Blue Jackets: Boston Coach Claude Julien Calls Game 'Dangerous'

The Boston Bruins take a six-game winning streak into Thursday night's meeting with the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets, but coach Claude Julien is not taking Columbus lightly.