BostonBruins.com - Torey Krug admitted that the cliches were out in full force on Sunday afternoon. But for the Bruins, it really is that simple.

It's win or go home on Monday night as the Black & Gold face a 3-1 series deficit in their second-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Can give you a bunch of cliches, but it truly is one game at a time here," said Krug. "We're just focusing on [Game 5], and trying not to let things spiral out of control within a hockey game is a big part of it. We're just working on our game and focusing on ourselves. We've just got to bring it next game.

"We haven't played up to our level. We have to get there fast or else it's gonna end before we want it to."

BostonBruins.com - Two years ago, the Bruins captued Game 1 of their second-round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning in convincing fashion. It was not a harbinger of things to come.

They did not win another game, as the Bolts took four straight games to oust them from the postseason.The Black & Gold have no intentions of allowing history to repeat itself, as they look to open up a 2-0 series lead over the Lightning on Tuesday night in Toronto. 

BostonBruins.com - Under normal circumstances, the Bruins would be returning to home ice with a chance to close out the Hurricanes in Game 5. But in 2020, there is no such advantage, meaning the Black & Gold must generate their own energy on Wednesday afternoon when they aim to clinch their first-round series against Carolina.

"There's no room for us not to be ready," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. "We've just got to take it one period at a time and give our all each 20 minutes. We know that we're facing a really good team. Those games are the hardest to win."

BostonBruins.com - After missing the last two games with an undisclosed injury, David Pastrnak skated on Sunday afternoon during an optional practice in Toronto. While that is certainly progress for the Bruins' top winger, coach Bruce Cassidy termed him as "50/50 at best" for Monday night's Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Pasta skated today briefly, did some work after in the gym, so that's encouraging," said Cassidy. "He's got his skates on out there. How does that bode for [Monday]? Not sure yet, probably a little premature. Let's see how he does in the morning, so I put him at, I'd say, 50/50 at best right now. Of course, that could change over 24 hours."

BostonBruins.com - The Carolina Hurricanes finally broke through on Thursday night. After being swept out of the Eastern Conference Final by the Bruins in 2019 and suffering a double-overtime loss to start this year's first round, it appeared that the Black & Gold might just have a big-brother advantage over the 'Canes.

But that idea changed in a hurry in Game 2 as Carolina countered with a 3-2 victory to tie the series at a game apiece. With the Hurricanes buoyed by some newfound confidence, the Black & Gold realize that it's now their turn to deliver a response as they look to regain control on Saturday afternoon in Game 3 (Noon, NBC and 98.5 The Sports Hub).

BostonBruins.com - The Bruins began their preparations for the postseason on Monday morning without two of their most important players. Tuukka Rask and David Pastrnak both missed the session and were termed "unfit to participate" by coach Bruce Cassidy.

Cassidy went on to say that he expects both to be back on the ice on Tuesday for Game 1 of their first-round matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes.

BostonBruins.com - The Bruins' first week of game action inside the NHL's bubble has not unfolded to their liking. An exhibition loss followed by two round-robin setbacks cost the Black & Gold their top seed and cast some doubt outside the dressing room about their readiness for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But despite a rocky start in Toronto, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy believes his group is moving in the right direction as they prepare for Sunday's round-robin finale against the Washington Capitals. 

BostonBruins.com - In the days leading up to the NHL's shutdown back in March, the top two teams in the league were just beginning to revitalize their rivalry.

The Bruins and Lightning faced off twice in a span of five days in the week before the sports world was put on pause by the COVID-19 pandemic, splitting the matchups - a 2-1 Boston win on March 3 and a 5-3 Tampa victory on March 7 - the second of which was a spirited, fight-filled affair that included a combined 94 penalty minutes.

It was a preview of what many believed would be an inevitable playoff showdown between the Beasts of the East, who have battled head to head for conference supremacy for the past three seasons.

BostonBruins.com - Tuukka Rask returned to practice on Monday afternoon in Toronto after being away from the team for two days with what he described as a cough.

The B's netminder met with the media following the skate and ran through the sequence that left him quarantined in his hotel room for two days as he awaited two negative COVID-19 test results.

"I had a cough, so I just clicked yes on the [league's health] app and then all kinds of red lights started blinking and I was quarantined for two days," Rask explained. "They wanted to do two negative tests after that…they want to be very cautious of that if there's any symptoms."

BostonBruins.com - After nearly five months, the Bruins are preparing to play a hockey game on Thursday night. It won't count for anything in the record books, but the Black & Gold's exhibition contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets will certainly carry plenty of meaning as the B's finally return to the ice for their first game action since March 10 in Philadelphia.

"I think we're gonna play a pretty fully lineup, I expect Columbus will [too]," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "What I've seen from the [other exhibition] games is the pace is very, very high. Guys have their legs, they're flying around. Execution's a little bit off, managing the puck is always a challenge your first few games to get back to playing safer hockey when there's no play to be made, as opposed to open-ice shinny type stuff.

"I think everyone's ramping up for the play-ins or the round robins…I think you'll really see the physicality start to ramp up after the [exhibitions]."