BOSTON - The Bruins were reeling a bit as they returned home for their tilt with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. A winless road trip to Florida left them with a three-game losing streak and four regulation losses in their last five games.

And if things weren't already bad enough on the injury front, Boston was delivered yet another blow with the news following morning skate that Jake DeBrusk would miss at least two games with an upper-body injury.

BOSTON - Gemel Smith has never known anything other than Dallas during his six-year professional career. Drafted by the Stars in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL Draft, the 24-year-old suited up for 77 games over parts of three seasons with Dallas, forming plenty of relationships and memories along the way.

But now the Toronto native is set for a new chapter. Claimed off of waivers by the Bruins on Thursday afternoon, Smith will make his Black & Gold debut on Saturday night against the Maple Leafs at TD Garden.

SAUGUS - The Bruins got into the holiday spirit on Friday afternoon, as they came together for the team's annual toy shopping event at Walmart to purchase gifts for children who will spend the holidays in the hospital.

The event began when Hall of Famer Ray Bourque was captain of the Bruins and has continued over the years, with Patrice Bergeron having spearheaded the event since 2010. The toy purchased - through donations by the Bruins' players and the Boston Bruins Foundation - will be delivered next week to over 600 children in hospitals around Boston.

"Just to be able to give back, we're in a good position to do so," said Bergeron, who brough his young son Zack along for the festivities. "Just try to have fun with it. It's obviously a great event - even more rewarding when you're able to get the toys, but also deliver them to different hospitals. It goes a long way."

STAT OF THE WEEK: David Pastrnak scored his 20th goal of the season in Tampa Bay on Thursday in his 28th game of the season. It was the fastest 20 goals by a Bruin since Cam Neely scored his 20th in just his 19th game in 1993-94.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "It was brutal. I remember the first time I got high-sticked where I lost jibs…It happens. I'm hopefully going to lose some more, because it means I'm going to the right areas and getting penalties. It's a cool thing, I guess, in a way. Kind of badass. Haven't lost one here, knock on wood, but we'll take the four." - Jake DeBrusk via Fluto Shinzawa (The Athletic) on losing teeth during his hockey career

TWEET OF THE WEEK (WEEK 15): @AmalieBenjamin (Amalie Benjamin, NHL.com): "Zdeno Chara got lost on the 9th floor today. Clearly he doesn't spend enough time up here, which is generally probably good news for the Bruins."

HONORABLE MENTION: @GlobeKPD (Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe): "Tues: Original 32 Day. Welcome, Seattle."

TAMPA - After missing 20 games due to injury, it would be fair to expect Charlie McAvoy to be eased back into playing. Instead, the 20-year-old's logged 20-plus minutes against the number one team in the NHL.

 "When I'm playing my best, I'm joining and I'm trying to make offense out of defense," said McAvoy. "At the same time playing responsible. I thought I did that in waves tonight. I kind of alluded, first period was tough trying to shake some rust off. Kind of stepped on a puck there, that's how it goes sometimes.

BOSTON - Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, December 6, the that the team has made the following transactions: placed defenseman Kevan Miller  on injured reserve and activated defenseman Charlie McAvoy  from injured reserve, claimed forward Gemel Smith off waivers from the Dallas Stars and assigned defenseman Connor Clifton to Providence.

BostonBruins.com - The Boston Bruins will have five prospects attending preliminary World Juniors camps next week. Daniel Bukac and Jakob Lauko will compete for a spot with the Czech Republic, Kyle Keyser will vie for a place with Team USA, Pavel Shen will suit up for Russia, and Jack Studnicka will strive for a selection from Team Canada.

Camps start as soon as next week, with preliminary rosters needing to pare down to 23 players ahead of the tournament. The 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship starts on December 26 in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. The championship game will be held on Saturday, January 5, 2019.

TAMPA - We're kicking off a new series called "Going Places" - presented by JetBlue - for select road trips this season. The feature will highlight some of the best photos from the Bruins' travels across North America.

TAMPA - After serving as a healthy scratch for the past 3 contests, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson will be making his return to the lineup when the Black & Gold take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. The coaches hope his time out of the lineup, which included being sent down to Providence for a one-game stint, will serve as motivation for Forsbacka Karlsson.

"Just a little bit more consistency in every area," said head coach Bruce Cassidy on what he is looking for from the 22-year-old center. "A little harder on pucks, harder in the face off circle. I thought his 200-foot game was generally a very accountable player. He's going to need that. He's probably going to get matched up. They'll get last change. I don't mind him against the good players, we saw that. He just has to be able to do it every night.

TAMPA - In eight games since the Bruins lost their top line center Patrice Bergeron to injury, the squad has fought to a 4-3-1 record in that span. The methods have not often been pretty, but a recipe of strong defensive play, good goaltending and timely scoring has kept the Black & Gold in the absence of their all-situations all-star forward. Against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, the formula fell short in the 5-0 loss.

"Last night was one of those games where we were all kind of off a bit," said forward Brad Marchand. "We made a lot of mistakes that were uncharacteristic of our team. Got away from it a little bit and we've been relying a lot on our goalies. It's tough to do that every night. We have to back them up and play well in front of them, but we didn't do that last night. We have to get back to playing the way we normally do."