Sharks at Bruins preview

SHARKS (4-4-0) at BRUINS (3-3-1)
7 p.m. ET; SN360, NESN, NBCSCA, NHL.TV

Khudobin, 2-0-1 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .910 save percentage this season, started the past two games when Rask was out because of a concussion.
Rask, who will be the backup, has practiced every day since Tuesday, but coach Bruce Cassidy said the training staff, coaching staff and Rask decided it would be better for him to practice again before playing. Their next game is at home against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
The Sharks will look to build off their 4-1 win at the New York Rangers on Monday. They are 2-1-0 during their five-game road trip. They had to kill six Rangers power plays in New York.

Players to watch

Sharks center Joe Thornton, selected by the Bruins with the No. 1 pick of the 1997 NHL Draft, has five points (one goal, four assists) during a four-game point streak. He is one point from tying Jari Kurri (1,398) for 20th on the NHL all-time list.
Bruins rookie Charlie McAvoy has five assists during a four-game point streak, and has seven points (one goal, six assists) in seven games this season to rank third in the NHL among first-year defensemen.

They said it

"It's great. They're great players and I'll just try to bring something to that line and work hard both ways and be strong on the puck." -- Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi on playing on a line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski
"It gives me a couple of extra days of work and I figure I'm going to prepare like I'm playing tonight just to kind of get into the normal routine again. And then practice [Friday] and be ready for Saturday." -- Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask

Sharks projected lineup

Joonas Donskoi -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson -- Logan Couture -- Tomas Hertl
Mikkel Boedker -- Chris Tierney -- Kevin Labanc
Timo Meier -- Ryan Carpenter -- Joel Ward
Joakim Ryan -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Tim Heed
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Barclay Goodrow, Jannik Hansen, Dylan DeMelo
Injured: Paul Martin (ankle)

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Anders Bjork
Jake DeBrusk -- David Backes -- David Pastrnak
Kenny Agostino -- Riley Nash -- Frank Vatrano
Tim Schaller -- Sean Kuraly --
Danton Heinen
Zdeno Chara -- Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug -- Charlie McAvoy
Paul Postma -- Kevan Miller
Anton Khudobin
Tuukka Rask
Scratched: Matt Beleskey
Injured: David Krejci (upper body), Adam McQuaid (leg), Ryan Spooner (groin), Noel Acciari (hand)

Status report

Meier is back in the lineup after he was a healthy scratch at the Rangers on Monday. ... Heinen, called up from Providence of the American Hockey League on Thursday, will replace Beleskey in the lineup.

Stat pack

Thornton is three points from 1,400 in his NHL career. ... Marchand is two goals from 200 in the NHL. Backes is two points shy of 500 in the NHL.