If we’re being honest with ourselves, the Bruins should have never found themselves down by three goals against the Blue Jackets on Sunday.

Given the importance of this head-to-head meeting, an ‘on time’ start was a must for the Black and Gold. Especially on the second leg of a back-to-back that kicked off with an absolutely fantastic win over the Wild back in Boston less than 24 hours earlier. And though the Bruins didn’t get that, they certainly adjusted on the fly as well as anybody could’ve hoped, with their best comeback of the year in a 4-3 shootout win over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

And for the Bruins, that comeback really started in what was a beatdown of a first period, and with Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic doing their part to wake up their team with two fights in a span of six seconds late in the frame.

“It says it all about our team we got this year,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said following the comeback victory. “Guys chipped in, guys care for each other. I think we just took over by just playing our game. We needed that little push. We knew we needed to be better. And it’s a good learning curve for us.

“Moving forward, you can’t relax in this league.” 

Here’s a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game…

3rd Star: Viktor Arvidsson

COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 29: Viktor Arvidsson #71 of the Bruins reacts to scoring during a shootout against the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on March 29, 2026. (Jason Mowry/Getty Images)

Writing about the success of the Bruins’ Viktor Arvidsson is getting to be a bit old hat around these parts. It seems like every other game (or maybe every game now), Arvidsson is doing something worth noting en route to a Bruins victory.

The veteran Swede decided to continue that trend Sunday in Columbus, with three assists and the shootout winner in Boston’s 4-3 final over the Blue Jackets. Or, in other words, Arvidsson had a direct hand in every B’s tally in the win.

With the three-point outing, Arvidsson extended his point streak to three games (two goals and six points), and has been on fire since returning from the Olympic break, with seven goals and 19 points in 17 games.

2nd Star: Pavel Zacha

Mar 29, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) carries the puck against the Boston Bruins during the first period at Nationwide Arena. (Russell LaBounty/Imagn Images)

If you’re waiting for Bruins center Pavel Zacha to cool down, you might want to start getting comfortable. Because the 28-year-old Zacha has shown no signs of having even a slight interest in doing just that anytime soon.

In what was yet another fantastic outing for the Black and Gold’s second-line center, Zacha scored the second and third goal of the night for the B’s, the latter of which came with just 11 seconds left in the game and allowed the B’s to steal a point.

In addition to his two goals (his 27th and 28th of the season), Zacha also had an assist on Charlie McAvoy’s goal that kickstarted this third-period comeback, and won 10 of his 19 battles at the dot in his 18:07 of time on ice.

1st Star: Charlie McAvoy

Mar 29, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) looks to pass as Blue Jackets left wing Miles Wood (11) trails the play at Nationwide Arena. (Russell LaBounty/Imagn Images)

I’ve said for years now that I don’t think that Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy will ever win a Norris Trophy. Now, to be clear, that has almost nothing to do with McAvoy. I do think he’s one of the most complete defensemen in the NHL, and can impact the game in all three zones. It’s just that I never thought he’d put up the point totals that the modern voter seems to require when voting for the Norris these days.

But McAvoy may be on the cusp of changing that discussion thanks to another dynamite performance on the Boston blue line, and with another multi-point outing.

On the board with a goal and an assist in the win, McAvoy tied and then set a new single-season career high in points with No. 56 and then No. 57. That brings McAvoy up to 57 points through 62 games this season, which ranks 10th among all NHL defenders. (McAvoy’s 46 assists also rank 10th among NHL D-men, by the way.)

McAvoy has also been a point-producing menace since returning from his broken jaw, with 11 goals and 43 points in 43 games since Dec. 11. That point-per-game pace has made him the seventh-highest scoring blue liner over that span. And when you consider that McAvoy was the eighth-highest scoring defender at the time of his injury in Montreal, it’s worth noting that McAvoy has basically been a top-10 scoring defender in this league without injuries interrupting his flow.

Of course, I do think that the Norris should go beyond point totals. But now that McAvoy has that to go with everything else he does, there’s no denying that this is one hell of a late-season push from No. 73.