Bruins at Flyers preview

BRUINS (49-17-11) at FLYERS (39-25-14)
12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, TVAS, NHL.TV

The Flyers, who are 4-0-3 in their past seven games, own the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference and trail the Columbus Blue Jackets by two points for third place in the Metropolitan with this game in hand.
The Bruins, who have won their past two games and are 5-0-3 in their past eight, lead the Tampa Bay Lightning by one point for first place in the Atlantic Division with one game in hand. Boston trails the Nashville Predators by two points for the NHL lead.

Players to watch

Bruins forward David Pastrnak has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak.
Flyers forward Claude Giroux has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) during a six-game point streak.

They said it

"Our group has changed a lot over the year. A lot of different guys have stepped in, a lot of guys have been injured. So we're pretty confident with playing with whoever is out there."-- Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask
"First and foremost, we have to get into the playoffs. We have to clinch a spot. We still have to play with urgency. ... As much good hockey as we've played of late, we have to play just as good and even better going down the stretch here." -- Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk -- David Krejci --
Ryan Donato
Danton Heinen -- Tommy Wingels -- David Backes
Tim Schaller -- Noel Acciari --
Brian Gionta
Zdeno Chara -- Nick Holden
Torey Krug -- Adam McQuaid
Matt Grzelcyk
-- Kevan Miller
Anton Khudobin
Tuukka Rask
Scratched:None
Injured:Charlie McAvoy (knee), Sean Kuraly (upper body), Rick Nash (upper body), Riley Nash (upper body), Brandon Carlo (undisclosed)

Flyers projected lineup

Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom
-- Nolan Patrick -- Jakub Voracek
Jordan Weal -- Valtteri Filppula -- Wayne Simmonds
Jori Lehtera -- Scott Laughton -- Matt Read
Ivan Provorov -- Shayne Gostisbehere
Travis Sanheim -- Andrew MacDonald
Brandon Manning -- Radko Gudas
Petr Mrazek
Alex Lyon
Scratched:Robert Hagg, Taylor Leier, Dale Weise
Injured:Brian Elliott (lower body), Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Johnny Oduya (upper body), Michael Raffl (upper body)

Status report

Elliott has resumed skating, but Mrazek will start and Lyon was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis to back up. ... With Carlo out, Chara or McAvoy could return to the lineup.

Stat pack

Gostisbehere has five assists during a three-game point streak and 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his past nine games. ... Marchand has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past five games.