"I think we're just going to approach this game the way we approached the games before this one," Bruins forward Joakim Nordstrom said. "Obviously we know what's at stake, but like I said, you don't want to look too far ahead."
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy would like to see Boston's defense tighten up. In the third period of Game 5, Boston led 2-0 and 3-1 before the Blue Jackets tied the game 3-3 with 6:02 remaining. Forward David Pastrnak's goal with 1:28 left was the difference.
"The start of the series they were playing behind us a lot," Cassidy said. "And then all of a sudden now they're a little more attack-oriented 1-on-1, they're willing to challenge our D 1-on-1," Cassidy said. "So we just have to understand where we want to put them. If your gap is good, or even with the forward [back checking], usually you can dictate where you want them to go with a good stick, keep them to the outside. They've gotten inside on us a few times for some really good chances.
"And then our forwards can help with back pressure on those as well. If they tighten the gap on how much room they have to get inside, with good back pressure, then they won't be able to make those moves, it'll have to be outside, it'll be chips and shots from outside the dots."
After scoring six goals in the first three games of this series, the Bruins have scored four goals in each of the past two games. It hasn't been just a matter of solving Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky but also avoiding the Blue Jackets' shot-blockers. Columbus blocked 19 or more shots in each of the first three games but has blocked 15 and 18 in Game 4 and 5, respectively.
