BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Two nights after TD Garden hosted the thrilling 4 Nations Face-Off finale, the Boston Bruins are going back to work on their Eastern Conference wild-card chase.
Boston begins the final stretch of the regular season Saturday with the first of a three-game homestand, facing an Anaheim Ducks team that surged into the NHL’s two-week break.
Bruins coach Joe Sacco knows how important it will be for his team to come out strong. The Bruins remain one point below the playoff cut line — with the three teams both above and below them holding games in hand.
“We have to play some good hockey here in the last 25 games to put ourselves in a position to compete for a playoff spot,” Sacco said. “I don’t know the exact number of (points) that it’s going to take to get in. … But let’s look short term here, two or three games (at a time) and try to take care of business.”
Boston team captain Brad Marchand and goaltender Jeremy Swayman are both expected to play Saturday after concluding 4 Nations on opposite sides of the United States-Canada final. However, top defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm will not suit up.
While Lindholm has remained sidelined with a lower-body injury since November, McAvoy had “an infection in his right shoulder” and suffered “a significant injury to his AC joint” during Team USA’s 4 Nations opener last week, the Bruins said.
“(McAvoy is) such a gamer,” Bruins forward Charlie Coyle said. “He plays hard. Yeah, injuries and things happen, but he was a man possessed playing those games. He was so much fun to watch. It fired me up watching on TV.”
McAvoy was released from the hospital on Thursday and is reportedly on a week-to-week timeline.
The 36-year-old Marchand posted points in six of his final seven games before the break. Now, he looks to carry the momentum of a medal-winning week back to the Bruins.
“It means a little bit more being here,” Marchand said of winning the best-on-best tournament in Boston. “I care tremendously about this city and the people and the fans; have a lot of friends and family here. But at the end of the day, when you get on the ice, you don’t think about that stuff.”