The Bruins (41-24-8) will have their pedestrian 14-14-7 mark on the road tested. Columbus has posted a 20-9-7 mark at home this season.
Winners of four of their last five, the Bruins maintain a three point advantage on Columbus for the first wild card spot. Boston trails the Canadiens by two points for the third seed in the Atlantic, yet Montreal has a game in hand.
There are nine teams within 10 points of each other jockeying for playoff position in the crowded Eastern Conference picture.
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The puck will drop at 5 p.m. at Nationwide Arena. Here’s the preview:
When: Sunday, 5 p.m.
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV, radio: NESN, WBZ-FM 98.5
Line: Columbus -150. O/U: 6.0.
BRUINS
Season record: 41-24-8. vs. spread: 47-26. Over/under: 40-32, 1 push
Last 10 games: 6-2-2. vs. spread: 7-3. Over/under: 5-5
BLUE JACKETS
Season record: 38-24-11. vs. spread: 39-34. Over/under: 33-36, 4 pushes
Last 10 games: 6-3-1. vs. spread: 5-5. Over/under: 3-7
TEAM STATISTICS
Goals scored: Boston 243, Columbus 228
Goals allowed: Boston 224, Columbus 221
Power play: Boston 23.3%, Columbus 19.9%
Penalty minutes: Boston 920, Columbus 589
Penalty kill: Boston 76.6%, Columbus 77.9%
Faceoffs won: Boston 52.5%, Columbus 50.5%
Stat of the day: David Pastrnak owns a 12 game point streak.
Notes: David Pastrnak has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in his last five games. Pavel Zacha, his countrymate, has recorded four goals and three assists in that same span … Columbus defensemen Brendan Smith (knee) and Damon Severson (upper-body) are both listed as out, while Dmitri Voronkov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury … The Bruins have no listings on the injury report … Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli has three goals and seven assists in his last 10 games.
Cam Kerry can be reached at cam.kerry@globe.com.