The Boston Bruins are fighting for a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and they’re playing good hockey at the right time.
The B’s have won back-to-back games heading into their Thursday night tilt with the Dallas Stars at TD Garden.
With six games remaining on its regular season schedule, Boston currently holds a three point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card spot and is just one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins will take on a Stars squad Thursday that currently is the fourth-worst team in the Western Conference. With wins at a premium, Boston will hope to take advantage of a struggling opponent.
Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for both teams.
BOSTON BRUINS (40-30-6)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–David Backes
Drew Stafford–David Krejci–David Pastrnak
Matt Beleskey–Ryan Spooner–Jimmy Hayes
Dominic Moore–Riley Nash–Noel Acciari
Zdeno Chara–Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug–Adam McQuaid
John-Michael Liles–Kevan Miller
Tuukka Rask
DALLAS STARS (31-34-11)
Jamie Benn–Cody Eakin–Ales Hemsky
Remi Elie–Tyler Seguin–Brett Ritchie
Jason Dickinson–Radek Faksa–Devin Shore
Curtis McKenzie–Adam Cracknell–Jason Spezza
Esa Lindell–John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis–Stephen Johns
Jamie Oleksiak–Julius Honka
Antti Niemi
Thumbnail photo via Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports Images
