BOSTON -- Boston Bruins forward Matt Beleskey will face his former team for the first time when the Bruins play the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday at TD Garden (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, SNO, SNW, FS-W, NESN).

Beleskey spent his first seven NHL seasons with the Ducks, and had an NHL career-best 22 goals last season. He was one of the most coveted unrestricted free agents last summer and signed a five-year, $19 million contract with the Bruins (26-17-5) on July 1.

"It's going to be fun," Beleskey said. "Definitely one I had circled on the calendar. But this is a big two points for us heading into the [All-Star] break and we'll be ready to get those."

The Bruins have won five of their past six games (5-1-0), including a 3-2 win at the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. Beleskey has eight goals in 46 games for the Bruins, but his contribution is measured in more than points.

"You know we’ve got some skill players but we also need some players that are going to get their noses dirty and be physical," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "And when he's at his best that's exactly what he is. He's not afraid to go to the net, he's not afraid to finish his checks. He's gritty, gets his nose dirty and it's been a good blend for our hockey club."

BOSTON – The Columbus Blue Jackets have lost 186 man-games to injury this season, so they should be celebrating the return of forwards Nick Foligno and Matt Calvert to their lineup against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, NESN).

But a fluke injury has put a damper on things.

The Blue Jackets will be without coach John Tortorella, who did not make the trip to Boston because he broke two ribs in a collision in practice on Friday. Associate coach Craig Hartsburg will fill in for Tortorella.

Foligno had one goal and five assists in four games before he went out of the lineup for six games with an upper-body injury. He has six goals and 19 assists in 39 games and Calvert, who missed nine games with a knee injury, has six goals and one assist in 39 games. Both will be welcome additions for the Blue Jackets, who are last in the Eastern Conference with 38 points.

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins activated center David Krejci from injured reserve Thursday for their game against the Vancouver Canucks at TD Garden (7 p.m. ET; SN360, NESN).

Coach Claude Julien classified Krejci as a game-day decision while Krejci took part in an optional morning skate. Krejci has missed 10 games, during which the Bruins have gone 5-4-1. Center Ryan Spooner has two goals and nine assists in those games, and when Krejci returns the Bruins lineup will become much deeper now that Spooner has hit his stride in the NHL.

BOSTON -- Few players have been hotter than Boston Bruins center Ryan Spooner.

Spooner, who has skated with wings Matt Beleskey and Loui Eriksson since center David Krejci went down with an upper-body injury and wing Brad Marchand returned from a suspension, has two goals and nine assists in the past eight games.

Entering the Bruins' game Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden (7 p.m. ET; CBC, CITY, NESN), Spooner has a three-game point streak with one goal and four assists in that span. More importantly, the 23-year-old has been earning more trust from coach Claude Julien.

"He's been good," Julien said after Spooner had one goal and two assists in the Bruins' 4-1 road win against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. "Tonight, a couple of times there he got rid of the puck early … but he's been a real good asset for us or a real good replacement for David Krejci since he's been down. He's been really skating well, making things happen, backchecking; so (I'm) really happy with the way he's taken on that responsibility of losing David and coming in and giving us that second line that's been pretty good offensively."

BOSTON -- The Washington Capitals are going to rely on a familiar strategy in an attempt to end their first two-game losing streak of the season against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, CSN-DC, NESN): They're going to start goaltender Braden Holtby.

The Capitals are 0-1-1 in their past two games.

Holtby is 8-2-0 in his career against the Bruins with a 1.52 goals-against average and .954 save percentage. He also led the Capitals to a seven-game series win against Boston in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

"Things like that, you could look into them, but there really isn't much evidence," said Holtby, who leads the NHL in wins with 24 and has a 1.92 GAA and .932 save percentage. "Teams change every year, circumstances change. Tonight's a different game. Just because we've had success in the past doesn't mean we'll have it tonight by doing easy things. We'll have to focus on what's made us successful this year and what we think can make us successful against a very good team in the Boston Bruins."

BOSTON -- Goaltender Craig Anderson will make his third straight start for the Ottawa Senators in the second half of a home-and-home series with the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, NESN).

Anderson made 38 saves in a 3-1 home win against the Bruins on Sunday.

"I think a lot of it had to do with, in the third period we played really well, we shut them down pretty good," said Anderson, who has 77 saves on 79 shots in his past two games. "But right off the bat, at the beginning of the game, they just started throwing everything at the net. So the shot clock kind of got skewed out of proportion right off the bat. But they did generate some offense and we were able to shut them down."

BOSTON -- Buffalo Sabres rookie Jack Eichel will enjoy a homecoming against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, BELL TV, NESN).

Eichel hails from nearby Chelmsford, Mass., and last season he attended Boston University. Eichel and the Terriers won the Beanpot and Hockey East championship here. Eichel wasn't sure how many of his friends and family would be attending but did confirm his family will be in a suite.

"This is exciting for me. There's going to be so many family and friends here," he said. "You know growing up, going to the Bruins game, you always dream of playing the Garden. And now I'm going to get to do it for the first time against the Bruins. So I'm just really excited about it."

BOSTON -- Boston Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo will return from a three-game injury absence against the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-MW, NESN).

Rinaldo missed the past three games because of an upper-body strain. He will replace forward Max Talbot, who was suspended two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Monday.

"I'm really excited to be playing tonight," Rinaldo said. "Especially against a tough team like St. Louis is. So we need all of our guns blazing tonight and I think we'll come out strong."

Rinaldo has one goal and one assist in 26 games this season. Before the injury coach Claude Julien had Rinaldo, Talbot and Landon Ferraro as a line that could play against opposing second and third lines. While that line won't be together Tuesday, Julien said he hopes Rinaldo can continue his improved play and bring energy to the Bruins (19-9-4).

BOSTON – New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Elias is a healthy scratch against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Sunday.

Devils coach John Hynes said Elias will return to the lineup Tuesday at the Detroit Red Wings.

"It's just a situation like we talked about. We have a short turnaround, a busy schedule," Hynes said. "We've got another game on Tuesday. Try to utilize our lineup the way we see fit. We'll give [Elias] the day here and he'll be ready to go in Detroit."

BOSTON – Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff projects to get the majority of the starts for the Pittsburgh Penguins while Marc-Andre Fleury is out of the lineup one to two weeks with a concussion.

Zatkoff will make his sixth appearance and fifth start of the season when the Penguins face the Boston Bruins on Wednesday at TD Garden. Zatkoff, who has 26 games of NHL experience in three seasons, last played Nov. 28 in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. He has a 2-1-1 record with a 2.43 goals-against average and .936 save percentage.

This will be a chance for the 28-year-old to prove he can carry a heavier workload.

“I’ll be fine,” Zatkoff said after the Penguins’ morning skate. “I mean, I’ve played many games in my career and although I haven’t played a lot this year, I’ve had a lot of tough practices. I think the practices are the more challenging part than the games. The games are the easy part. So we’ll just play it day by day. We’ll start with tonight and see how the schedule works itself out.”