COLUMBUS, Ohio (Interstat) — Mark Kastelic scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and the Boston Bruins halted a five-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. The win moved Boston into the first Eastern Conference wild-card position and severely damaged Columbus’ playoff hopes. Sean Kuraly led the Bruins with a goal and two assists, while Henri Jokiharju added a goal and an assist. Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 33 saves. Mason Marchment and Adam Fantilli scored for the Blue Jackets, who could not overcome Boston’s consistent scoring across all three periods. Boston improved to 44-37, while Columbus fell to 40-41.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Interstat) — Mark Kastelic’s third-period goal broke a tie and lifted the Boston Bruins to a critical 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday at Nationwide Arena, snapping a five-game losing skid and vaulting Boston into the first Eastern Conference wild-card position. The loss all but mathematically eliminated the Blue Jackets from playoff contention with three games remaining in the regular season. Sean Kuraly, a native of Dublin, Ohio, led the Bruins with a goal and two assists against his former team. Henri Jokiharju added a goal and an assist, while Kastelic finished with a goal and an assist. Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was instrumental in the win, stopping 33 of 35 shots to outduel Columbus netminder Jet Greaves, who made 19 saves. The Bruins opened the scoring midway through the first period. At the 10:31 mark, Kuraly deflected a shot from Kastelic, with Jokiharju earning the secondary assist, to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Columbus answered before the period ended. At 16:01, Mason Marchment tipped a Dante Fabbro point shot past Korpisalo, with captain Boone Jenner collecting an assist to tie the game 1-1. Boston reclaimed the lead late in the second period. With just 1:19 remaining before intermission, Jokiharju fired a wrist shot past Greaves, assisted by Kuraly and rookie James Hagens, who recorded his first NHL point in his debut. Hagens, the seventh overall selection in the 2025 draft, also took a hooking penalty in the first period. The Blue Jackets drew even again early in the third. Adam Fantilli, Columbus’s dynamic center, netted his 24th goal of the season at 3:27, converting a setup from Danton Heinen to make it 2-2. The game remained deadlocked until Kastelic provided the decisive strike. At 10:22 of the final period, he took a feed from Kuraly and beat Greaves with a wrist shot. Defenseman Jordan Harris was credited with the secondary assist. Columbus pressed for another equalizer, directing 13 shots on Korpisalo in the third period, but the Finnish goaltender stood firm. The Blue Jackets’ best chance came in the final minutes during a frantic scramble, but Korpisalo and his defenders managed to keep the puck out of the net. The Bruins’ penalty kill, tested three times, was perfect, stifling all Columbus power-play opportunities. Boston did not receive a man-advantage chance in the game. With the win, Boston improved to 44-37-0, moving one point ahead of idle New Jersey for the top wild-card spot. The Bruins had lost five straight, including a 2-1 defeat at home to Tampa Bay on Saturday, making Sunday’s resilience on the road imperative. Columbus, which had won four of its last six games entering the contest, fell to 40-41-0. The Blue Jackets’ playoff hopes, already faint, were effectively extinguished by the regulation loss. The game defied pregame projections. National Statistical’s game simulator had predicted a 3-2 Columbus victory, and its ELO rating system gave the Blue Jackets a 50.6% probability to win. Columbus was also installed as a 1.5-goal favorite on the betting spread. The total of five goals went under the over/under line of 6.5. Boston will look to solidify its playoff positioning when it hosts the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday in a direct clash for the wild-card lead. Columbus, playing for pride, will welcome the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

Bruins, Blue Jackets Meet in Columbus with Playoff Implications on the Line COLUMBUS, Ohio (Interstat) — The Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets, two teams on the fringe of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, will face off Sunday at Nationwide Arena in a late-season clash with potential postseason ramifications. The visiting Bruins (43-37-0) arrive after a narrow 2-1 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, their fourth consecutive defeat. Boston’s recent skid has tightened the race for the final wild-card spots. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman, expected to start, has been busy but has struggled to secure wins lately, dropping his last four decisions despite facing an average of over 23 shots per game. In the teams’ most recent meeting on March 29, Boston edged Columbus 4-3 in a shootout. The Blue Jackets (39-40-0), officially eliminated from playoff contention after Thursday’s 5-0 loss in Buffalo, will look to play spoiler in their home finale. Defenseman Egor Zamula will be a key figure on a Columbus blue line tasked with containing Boston’s top forwards. The Blue Jackets have lost three of their last four, including a 5-1 defeat to Carolina on April 2. While Boston holds the season series edge, winning two of three meetings this year, both contests have been decided by a single goal. The Bruins will need to reverse a troubling trend of low offensive output during their losing streak, having scored just four total goals in their last four games. Morgan Geekie, who scored Boston’s lone goal Saturday, will be relied upon for secondary scoring. According to National Statistical’s game simulator, the projection favors Columbus 3-2. The result could critically impact Boston’s trajectory as they return home to host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Columbus will conclude its season at home against the Washington Capitals that same night. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT.