BOSTON -- Detroit Red Wings forward Daniel Alfredsson was non-committal about his future Saturday after losing Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round to the Boston Bruins, 4-2, at TD Garden.

The Bruins won the best-of-7 series, 4-1.

The 41-year-old forward returned to the Red Wings lineup for Game 5 after missing two games because of a back injury. He did not have a point in the Stanley Cup Playoff series.

"You take some time off here and just decompose everything, take everything in,” Alfredsson said after he was asked about next season. "There’s been a lot of new impressions obviously for me and my family, but overall we've had a fun, challenging year. We've all learned a lot, so I'll take some time and settle down, and start the process from there."

BOSTON -- Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock confirmed Saturday that forward Daniel Alfredsson is scheduled to play against the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round on at TD Garden (3 p.m. ET; NBC, RDS, TSN).

Alfredsson replaces Todd Bertuzzi.

Babcock also said goaltender Jimmy Howard will return to the lineup to back up starter Jonas Gustavsson and defenseman Xavier Ouellet will replace Jakub Kindl.

The Red Wings will try to avoid elimination, down 3-1 in the best-of-7 series.

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins won Game 4 in overtime and hold a 3-1 series lead.

No, this isn't the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, it's 2014. But the scenario seems awfully familiar.

It was just last year that Boston took a 3-1 lead in the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals only to let the Toronto Maple Leafs extend the series to seven games. The Bruins will try to avoid the same fate when they host the Detroit Red Wings for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, RDS, TSN).

"You get these opportunities, and sometimes it's more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge," said Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, who Friday was named one of the three Vezina Trophy finalists. "You kind of start thinking about the end score of the game before the game even starts, and you kind of feel and hope that you get to do that. But I think we've learned over the years that it doesn't help us. We just have to focus on our job and the game itself, and then the results will take care of themselves. I hope we learned from the past years and are ready for tomorrow."

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson will start for the second consecutive time against the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference First Round series on Saturday at TD Garden (3 p.m. ET; NBC, RDS, TSN).

With starter Jimmy Howard out with the flu, Gustavsson made 37 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 4 on Thursday. Coach Mike Babcock said Friday Gustavsson would start again.

Boston leads the best-of-7 series 3-1.

"We should be able to go out there and play loose tomorrow with a lot of energy," Gustavsson told the Red Wings website. "The way we started the last game that's the way we need to play."

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall would love a good night of sleep after the day he had Thursday. He might not get it for quite a while.

Kronwall's girlfriend gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Douglas, at 11:31 a.m. ET, or shortly after the Red Wings morning skate at Joe Louis Arena, a practice that Kronwall participated in.

Kronwall was back at Joe Louis Arena to play against the Bruins. He scored with a goal 11 minutes into the first period and had an assist on Pavel Datsyuk's goal at 4:27 of the second.

The only negative in the day happened late, when the Red Wings blew a 2-0 lead and lost in overtime. But even that couldn't stop Kronwall from smiling when he was asked to describe his whirlwind, emotional day.

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings goalie Jonas Gustavsson had no idea he'd be making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut when he arrived at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday evening.

"I got told that I might go just before warmup," Gustavsson said, "and after warmup they made the decision."

It's a good thing he was prepared and ready to play because No. 1 goalie Jimmy Howard had the flu.

DETROIT -- Jonas Gustavsson is making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut as the Detroit Red Wings starting goalie in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round series against the Boston Bruins at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday.

DETROIT -- Henrik Zetterberg returned to the Detroit Red Wings lineup for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round series against the Boston Bruins on Thursday at Joe Louis Arena.

DETROIT -- Forwards Brad Marchand, Reilly Smith and Tyler Seguin all have something in common other than being current or former Boston Bruins.

Once Bruins coach Claude Julien realized how good Marchand, Smith and Seguin could be, he put them on a line with center Patrice Bergeron so they would become even better.

That's how much Julien appreciates and trusts Bergeron, who was named as a finalist for the Selke Trophy on Thursday along with Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews and Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar.

Bergeron and the Bruins play the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First Round series at Joe Louis Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, NESN, FS-D). The Bruins lead the best-of-7 series 2-1.

DETROIT -- Acknowledge him, be aware of him, respect him, but don't change because of him.

That's how the Boston Bruins plan to approach the potential return of Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round series Thursday at Joe Louis Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, NESN, FS-D).

Zetterberg, who hasn't played since Feb. 8 because of back surgery, will be a game-time decision for the Red Wings. He skated Thursday morning on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader, then left the arena to visit with the team doctors.

The Bruins lead the best-of-7 series 2-1.

"In my mind he's going to be there [Thursday]. We expected that, so that's not a concern," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "The biggest thing here is they've got a real good player on their team. Where he is in his conditioning, I don't know. But at the same time, every playoff game has to be about your team; it can't be about the other team. We make adjustments to play against the other team, not the other individual, so that's not going to change for us."