Boston Bruins (44-20-9, second in the Atlantic Division) vs. New Jersey Devils (27-38-9, eighth in the Metropolitan Division)
Newark, New Jersey; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Brad Marchand leads Boston into a matchup with New Jersey. He's 10th in the NHL with 87 points, scoring 31 goals and recording 56 assists.
The Devils have gone 17-13-6 in home games. New Jersey leads the Eastern Conference with 10 shorthanded goals, led by Blake Coleman with three.
The Bruins are 25-15-4 in Eastern Conference play. Boston averages 9.7 penalty minutes per game, the second-most in the Eastern Conference. Marchand leads the team serving 92 total minutes. In their last meeting on March 2, Boston won 1-0.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Palmieri leads the Devils with 27 goals, adding 23 assists and totaling 50 points. Damon Severson has recorded 7 points over the last 10 games for New Jersey.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 7-3-0, averaging 3.2 goals, 4.8 assists, 3.7 penalties and 8.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.3 goals per game with a .909 save percentage.
Devils: 2-7-1, averaging 1.9 goals, 3.1 assists, 3.6 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game with a .895 save percentage.
Devils Injuries: Sami Vatanen: out (upper body), Miles Wood: out (ankle), Nico Hischier: day to day (upper body), Jesper Bratt: out (lower body), Mirco Mueller: out (undisclosed).
Bruins Injuries: Marcus Johansson: out (upper body), Kevan Miller: out (upper body), Torey Krug: day to day (upper body), Matt Grzelcyk: day to day (arm).
