Need to Know: Bruins vs. Oilers

BOSTON - A season full of milestones could continue on Thursday night as the Bruins kick off their stretch run with a visit from the Edmonton Oilers at TD Garden. Boston, beginning a period in which it will play its final 20 games over 36 days, can become the fastest team to 50 wins in NHL history (63 games), while also having a chance to clinch its seventh consecutive playoff spot with a win and some help from the teams battling for a wild card bid.
"It's kind of like a feather in our cap that we're having the season that we're having. It gives us a tremendous amount of confidence," said coach Jim Montgomery, whose club has wrapped up its four-day break without a game. "But we stay in the moment, we don't worry about the future. The only thing the future we worry about is are we prepared to handle the adversity coming your way in the playoffs.

"That's our sole focus now. People will talk about, 'Do you want to set the record, beat the [1976-77] Canadiens' record [of 132 points]…we don't really care about it. We care about, are we getting prepared for Game 1 off the playoffs. That's our whole focus.
"It's easy to come to work and get focused every day when our focus is that."
Here's everything else you need to know ahead of the 7:30 p.m. ET puck drop on ESPN+, Hulu, and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

Making the Switch

Matt Grzelcyk, who sat out Boston's last game as a healthy scratch, will be back in the lineup on Thursday night, playing the right side on a pair with Derek Forbort. The blue liner has not played much on his off side throughout his professional career, but has enough experience there over the years that he feels comfortable making the switch.
"I've played it before, so I think I know kind of what can get you in trouble," said Grzelcyk. "I think sometimes the neutral zone can be tough. You're on your off side, you kind of feel like if you get a D-to-D pass, it's tough to go right up. But like I said, I've had experience there before playing, so I'm just trying to get used to it and see what happens."
The biggest adjustment, perhaps, will be playing with Forbort for the first time.
"I've never played with him, but I know his game, obviously, for the last year and a half," said Grzelcyk. "Just going to watch him, try to command the puck a little bit and move pucks first touch. Like I said, it's a little bit tougher just seeing the ice on your off side. But we've had a few games in the past, so I rely on those past experiences, and I know he's an unbelievable defender and he's really good at closing plays off the rush.
"When he's on his game, I have to be ready to skate over and defend the middle if we're going to squash and slide. We've only had one practice together, so see how it works."
Grzelcyk has been part of a rotation on the back end since the acquisition of Dmitry Orlov that has led to several of Boston's regular blue liner's sitting out as a healthy scratch.
"I think it's a little unlikely that we've kind of remained healthy for pretty much the whole year," said Grzelcyk. "When you come out of the lineup, trying to make sure you take care of your body and using that time properly, getting the rest that you need and making sure that when you come back, you have a little bit more jumps.
"I think we all realize the reality of the situation. We have a ton of good players, obviously, and someone's going to come out of the lineup eventually. So just making sure that when you're in there, you're making the most of it."

Opposing View

Since the Bruins last met the Oilers about 10 days ago in Edmonton, Connor McDavid and Co. have added some reinforcements. Edmonton added burly blue liner Mattias Ekholm and veteran forward Nick Bjugstad at the trade deadline, while Evander Kane has been back at practice and could return to the lineup after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury.
"I think they helped themselves a lot," said Montgomery. "Ekholm is one of the elite defensemen in the league. Offensively, he's underrated. Defensively, everybody knows how good he is, so they obviously got better. Kane coming back, he wasn't there last time, obviously makes them even deeper up front, which is already pretty deep."
Edmonton, which has won three of four since its 3-2 loss to the Bruins on Feb. 27, is of course led by McDavid up front. The league's leading scorer (a career-high 124 points in 65 games) is in the midst of an 11-game point streak (27 points), his fourth streak of 10 or more straight games with a point this season.
"It's tough. I mean, he's playing with that speed, but his eyes are up," said Grzelcyk. "He's never telegraphing a pass. You can't really angle him off in any area. He can get anywhere he wants on the ice…he seems to get better every year. It's just so impressive to see. And we're going to have our hands full tonight."

Wait, There's More

• Montgomery did not name a starting goaltender. Connor Clifton and Jakub Zboril will be the healthy scratches.
• Dmitry Orlov will bump up to the first power-play unit. Read more.
• If Boston were to clinch a playoff spot on Thursday night, it would mark the 76th postseason appearance in club history.
• Per NHL Stats, 17 teams have clinched a playoff spot in fewer than 70 games since the 82-game schedule was introduced in1995-96. Only two have done so in 63 contests or less (1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, 59; 1998-99 Dallas Stars, 63).

Thursday's Projected Lineup

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Jake DeBrusk
Pavel Zacha - David Krejci - David Pastrnak
Tyler Bertuzzi - Charlie Coyle - Trent Frederic
A.J. Greer - Tomas Nosek - Garnet Hathaway
DEFENSEMEN
Dmitry Orlov - Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm - Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort - Matt Grzelcyk
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark/Jeremy Swayman