Bruins Can Improve Playoff, Draft Odds With Win Over Phil Kessel’s Maple Leafs

With five regular season games remaining, it's officially crunch time for the Bruins.

The B's enter Saturday's matchup against the Maple Leafs following a
disappointing 1-0 shutout loss to the Panthers at the TD Garden. The
loss not only ended Tuukka Rask's shutout streak at 121 minutes, 42 seconds, but also displayed the Bruins' inability to clamp down on lesser opponents.

The Maple Leafs have played well recently, going 6-3-1 in their last
10 games and 10-4-2 since March 1. In addition, Toronto has a 18-6-5
record at the Air Canada Centre.

The Bruins need every point they can get to make the playoffs, and Phil Kessel and the Leafs will do everything in their power to play spoiler. 

WHEN AND WHERE

HEAD TO HEAD

Boston has won three of five matchups with Maple Leafs, but have yet to
win in Toronto. The Bruins posted an easy 7-2 win in their first
matchup with the Leafs on Dec. 5, and followed up with a 5-2 victory
five days later. Jonas Gustavsson helped Toronto get its first
win in the series by shutting out the B's 2-0 on Dec. 19. The teams
went more than three months before meeting twice in March in two
tightly contested games. Miroslav Satan scored the game-winning
goal to give the Bruins a 3-2 shootout victory at the TD Garden on
March 4. The Leafs responded five days later with a 4-3 overtime win
over the B's in Toronto.

GOALTENDING MATCHUP

Bruins
Tuukka Rask is 19-12-4 with a 1.99 GAA and .930
save percentage. The Maple Leafs' 2005 first-round draft pick saved 19
of 20 shots in Thursday's game against the Panthers. Rask was
victorious in the B's first two matchups with the Leafs this season.

Tim Thomas is
16-18-8 with a 2.55 GAA with .915 save percentage. Thomas suffered an
overtime loss in the B's last matchup with the Leafs on March 9.

Maple Leafs
Jonas
Gustavsson is 16-14-8 with a 2.84 GAA and .903 save percentage. He was
the game-winning goalie in both of the Leafs' victories over the Bruins
this season.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere is 9-14-7 with a 2.90 GAA and .905 save percentage. The Maple Leafs acquired Gigure from the Anaheim Ducks for forward Jason Blake and goaltender Vesa Toskala on Jan. 31.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Bruins
Forwards
Milan Lucic–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Marco Sturm–David Krejci–Miroslav Satan
Blake Wheeler–Vladimir Sobotka–Brad Marchand
Daniel Paille–Steve Begin/Trent Whitfield–Michael Ryder/Shawn Thornton

Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Dennis Seidenberg
Mark Stuart–Dennis Wideman
Matt Hunwick–Johnny Boychuk

Goaltenders
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Maple Leafs
Forwards
Nikolai Kulemin–Mikhali Grabovski–Phil Kessel
Viktor Stalberg–Tyler Bozak–Christian Hanson
John Mitchell–Brayden Irwin–Luca Caputi
Fredrik Sjostrom–Rickard Wallin–Colton Orr

Defenseman
Luke Schenn–Tomas Kaberle
Dion Phaneuf–Francois Beauchemin
Garnet Exelby–Carl Gunnarsson

Goaltenders
Jonas Gustavsson
Jean-Sebastien Giguere

STAT SHEET

Bruins

• The Bruins have alternated wins and losses over their last six
  games, after losing at home to Florida on Thursday. Each of those three
  wins has been a shutout.
• The Bruins have failed to score a power-play goal in 11 of their
  last 12 games but have five in five meetings this season with Toronto.
• Rask is 3-1-0 with a 2.01 GAA in four starts against the Leafs.

Maple Leafs

• None of Phil Kessel's 30 goals have come against his old team.
• The Leafs are 0-for-17 on the power play against Boston this season.
• Toronto has scored first in 29 of its games this season, fewest among NHL teams.

BLACK AND BLUE

Bruins

• Andrew Ference has been shut down for the week due to a
  hernia injury. He has missed the past four games, and will not return
  until at least next week.
• Marc Savard is out indefinitely with a Grade 2 concussion.

Maple Leafs

• Mike Komisarek will miss the remainder of the season following shoulder surgery.
• Mike Van Ryn will miss the remainder of the season following left knee surgery.

OUTLOOK

The Bruins' inconsistent play must stop if they want to get a win in
Toronto on Saturday night, but the B's should have plenty of
motivation. Not only can Boston capture two points against the
second-worst team in the NHL, but also can improve its chances of
getting a high pick in this year's draft. Thanks to the Phil Kessel
trade, the Bruins hold an 18.8 percent chance of landing the top pick.

The playoff push must begin now for the Bruins. After Saturday's
contest, the B's face playoff contenders in three of their final four
games. The Bruins face the Capitals twice in Washington, and the Sabres
and Hurricanes at home next week. A win in Toronto is necessary to
build momentum going into the season's home stretch.

A fast start can help the Bruins take the home crowd out of the game
for the Maple Leafs. A victory in Toronto can provide the foundation
toward a final dash to the playoffs.