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Boston Bruins end Columbus Blue Jackets' seven-game winning streak
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- Boston Bruins end Columbus Blue Jackets' seven-game winning streak
An impressive start for the Blue Jackets only resulted in one goal during the first period of their return from the NHL's pause for the 2026 Winter Olympics, and that factored heavily into their seven-game winning streak ending Feb. 26 in Boston .
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Former Blue Jackets Joonas Korpisalo and Sean Kuraly played key roles in the Boston Bruins ' 4-2 victory at TD Garden. Korpisalo earned the goaltending win by stopping 36 of 38 shots, including 19 of 20 in the first period, and Kuraly, who's from Dublin and played the past four years with the Blue Jackets, scored his first career goal against his hometown team to make it 3-1 with 8:45 left in the third.
That became the winner after Adam Fantilli pulled the Blue Jackets (29-21-7) to within 3-2 by scoring with 6:15 left. Kirill Marchenko scored the first goal for the Columbus and Elvis Merzlikins made 19 saves in taking the loss for the Jackets, who dropped six points behind the Bruins for the second of two wild-card playoff spots in the NHL's Eastern Conference.
Feb 26, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner (38) shoots the puck against the Boston Bruins during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Viktor Arvidsson scored two goals and Morgan Geekie scored the other one for the Bruins (33-20-5), who sealed the win on Arvidsson's second of the game scoring into an empty net with 33 seconds remaining.
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Marchenko opened the scoring just 4:32 into the game by scoring off a breakaway against Korpisalo.
Scooping the puck at the Boston blue line after Mason Marchment 's stretch pass deflected off Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy , the Jackets' top scoring forward skated in alone against Korpisalo before netting his 20th goal of the season with a wrist shot under the blocker. It was the lone Columbus goal in the period despite going to the first intermission with a 20-10 edge in shots.
Arvidsson tied it 1-1 for the Bruins by simply clacking a half slapper from the wall on the right wing that deflected into the net off Blue Jackets forward Isac Lunderstrom, who was skating back toward Merzlikins while trying to keep up with a Bruins forward.
Feb 26, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Miles Wood (11) crashes into Boston Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Boston went ahead 2-1 in the second on Geekie's goal to cap a power play that followed Miles Wood 's collision with Korpisalo in the crease. Wood's left shoulder contacted Korpisalo in the head while Lundestrom fired a shot, drawing an immediate attention from the Bruins plus a penalty for goaltender interference.
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Concussion spotters prompted Korpisalo's brief removal from the game to undergo baseline testing, and Geekie's goal happened with him out of the game. That made backup Michael DiPietro , who played 5:22 while Korpisalo was out, the goalie of record until Fantilli scored.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Boston Bruins end Columbus Blue Jackets' seven-game winning streak
