Bruins at Maple Leafs preview

BRUINS (25-15-4) at MAPLE LEAFS (28-13-2)
7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN1, CITY, NESN, NHL.TV

The 21-year old defenseman missed the past seven games with a foot infection
Tuukka Rask will start in goal for the Bruins, who are 5-1-0 in their past six games and have allowed two goals or fewer in four of their past six games.
Michael Hutchinson will make his fifth-straight start for the Maple Leafs, who are 2-3-0 in their past five games after a five-game winning streak.
This will be the final game of the four game season series between the Boston and Toronto. The Bruins won 5-1 on Nov. 10 and 6-3 on Dec. 8. The Maple Leafs won 4-2 on Nov. 26.

Players to watch

Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask is 4-0-0 with a 1.23 goals-against average, a .959 save percentage and one shutout in his past four starts.
Maple Leafs forward John Tavares has 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in his past 11 games.

They said it

"We have to move the puck, we have to skate and we have to make plays. Those games against Toronto are always intense. We have two teams very close to each other in the standings and we know these games are not easy to play." -- Bruins captain Zdeno Chara
"I think you look at it as another game, but obviously they've gotten the better of us so far this year. It's a division game so these are important points heading into the second half of the season. I think it should be (a statement game). We should be excited for it playing a good team." -- Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk -- David Krejci -- David Backes
Sean Kuraly -- Noel Acciari -- Chris Wagner
Danton Heinen -- Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson -- Ryan Donato
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk -- Kevan Miller
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched: Colby Cave, Steven Kampfer, John Moore
Injured: Joakim Nordstrom (fibula fracture)

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- William Nylander
Par Lindholm -- Frederik Gauthier -- Connor Brown
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott -- Igor Ozhiganov
Michael Hutchinson
Kasimir Kaskisuo
Scratched: Martin Marincin, Justin Holl
Injured: Tyler Ennis (broken ankle), Frederik Andersen (groin), Garret Sparks (concussion)

Status report

Andersen, who has missed the past seven games recovering from a groin injury, will not dress because of the flu. … Sparks faced shots at Toronto's optional morning skate, which coach Mike Babcock called a positive step for his recovery.

Stat pack

Bergeron has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past five games. … Marchand has 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in his past 15 games. … Marner has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past six games.... Matthews has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games.