BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins continued their brief homestand with just eight games remaining on the regular season and the absence of a few contributors ahead of Thursday night's matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Despite the sidelining of A.J. Greer and Matt Gryzelcyk, head coach Jim Montgomery, as he's done all year, voiced his confidence in the B's prior to puck drop. In doing so, Montgomery also highlighted a few key areas of the game style of forward Tomas Nosek and how it's contributed to Boston's overall success this season.
"His habits and details with how we wanna play, how we wanna get pucks out, how we wanna get pucks in," Montgomery told reporters, per team-provided video. "... Doesn't matter if I play him at left wing or right wing. He runs the right routes. He gets the pucks faster than most players because he knows what we're supposed to be doing within how the Bruins play."
Nosek, who's played 59 games this season for the Black and Gold, has tallied six goals alongside nine assists and 15 points. The 30-year-old also has recorded two assists in the last three games while the Bruins have won seven of their last eight games.
As Nosek has flourished in being just one of many key Bruins roster members, Boston still sits atop the NHL standings with a league-best 52-12-5 record thus far. And like many Bruins teammates, Nosek has plenty of postseason experience, having made 45 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs throughout his career.
Puck drop between the Bruins and Blue Jackets is set for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch the action live on NESN.
