Pastrnak has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past two games for Boston, looking for its third straight win and seventh victory in 10 games (6-3-0). The Bruins' No. 1 line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak has combined for 68 points (31 goals, 37 assists) in 17 games. Rantanen has 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) for Colorado and is tied with Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (10 goals, 16 assists) for the NHL scoring lead. The Avalanche's top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Rantanen has combined for 69 points (28 goals, 41 assists) in 17 games. Colorado is 1-4-1 in its past six games and has allowed at least four goals in four of its past five games.
Players to watch
Bergeron has six points (two goals, four assists) in a four-game point streak and is third among NHL scorers with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) behind McDavid and Rantanen. He is two goals shy of 300 in the NHL. MacKinnon has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past four games and is fourth in the NHL with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists).
They said it
"They have a great line and they're playing very well. We take pride every night in who match up against. It'll be a tough one. They have a lot of weapons." -- Bruins forward Brad Marchand "It's going to be a big matchup for us if we play against that line. We have to be ready to battle. We can't play [offensive] zone all the time, we have to defend against those guys too. It's going to be a fun game." -- Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen
Rask will back up Halak after returning from a two-game leave of absence to attend to a personal matter. … Boston recalled Zboril, a defenseman, from Providence of the American Hockey League and returned goalie Dan Vladar.
Stat pack
The Bruins have scored at least four goals in three consecutive games … Rantanen has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past seven games.
