Blue Jackets  3    Bruins  2

Columbus Blue Jackets (19-24-9) at Boston Bruins (23-17-8), 7 p.m.

Sports Network | January 21, 2010

(Sports Network) - The Boston Bruins hope to put an end to a three-game home losing streak when one of the NHL's worst road teams, the Columbus Blue Jackets, skate into TD Garden tonight for an interconference clash.

The Bruins have been outscored by a 13-4 margin during their home slide and are coming off a lopsided loss to fellow Northeast Division inhabitant Ottawa on Monday.

Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas was pulled midway through the 5-1 setback after giving up three goals on only nine shots, with replacement Tuukka Rask stopping 15-of-17 chances in relief.

Daniel Paille had the lone Boston goal in the team's fifth loss in its last six overall outings. The skid has dropped the Bruins into third place in the competitive Northeast standings, two points back of the second-place Senators.

"I just felt our top guys really look tired [Monday]," said Bruins head coach Claude Julien, whose team just completed a three-game Western road trip in which it posted a 1-1-1 record. "There's no doubt we need to get rest. We need more energy than we had [Monday].

Boston was able to get a needed few days off in preparation for this evening's battle with the lowly Blue Jackets, who were dealt their fourth loss in their past five games with Tuesday's 5-3 defeat at Philadelphia. Columbus has managed a mere 47 points for the season, the second-lowest total in the Western Conference.

The teams were tied at 2-2 until the Flyers scored twice in the final 8 1/2 minutes of the second period, then made it a three-goal advantage on Daniel Carcillo's goal midway through the third.

"We had the momentum and that third goal kind of took the wind out of us," remarked Columbus head coach Ken Hitchcock.

Former Flyer R.J. Umberger netted a pair of goals for the Blue Jackets, while captain Rick Nash scored his 23rd of the season in the game's final minutes. Kristian Huselius was credited with an assist on all three tallies.

Tuesday's loss came in the opener of a three-game road trip for Columbus and was the club's third in a row as the visitor. The Blue Jackets are just 8-16-4 away from home thus far in 2009-10.

Columbus is 1-2-0 all-time at TD Garden, having lost in its last two trips there after a 5-1 triumph on November 10, 2001.