Home-and-Home with Buffalo a Key Stretch for Bruins

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Bruins know they don't have much room to breathe these days.
There are currently eight teams below Boston in the Eastern Conference standings, but all are within seven points of the Black & Gold. The Bruins (40 points) have just a one-point lead over Tampa Bay for the third and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.

And with the Metropolitan Division holding a strong grasp on the East's two wild card spots, Boston knows its next two games - a home-and-home set with divisional rival Buffalo - are vital to maintaining a place in the playoff picture.
"It's crazy how close the standings are," Adam McQuaid said following the Bruins optional pregame skate Thursday morning. "We have played a few more games than a lot of teams. With teams having those games in hand, it's important playing those teams that we keep them below us.
"It's the old saying of a four-point game, there can be big swings that way. Every point is important, especially right now."

The Sabres (34 points) sit only six points behind the Bruins in the Atlantic. A sweep of the home-and-home by Buffalo could quickly propel the Sabres back into postseason contention, while two wins for Boston could provide some much needed separation between the teams.
"We know the importance of the game tonight," said McQuaid. "Start with a fresh slate of games here that we want to focus on. It starts tonight."
As important as these games are in the standings, Bruins coach Claude Julien said he believes the team must center its attention on improving their own play, not what the teams behind them are doing.
"There's still half a season to play," said Julien. "You can look around all you want. If you're worried about looking around and not worried about doing your own job then you're probably focusing in the wrong direction.
"We need to worry about ourselves here and what we need to do to win some hockey games."

Starting Strong

After falling behind by three goals in the first period of Tuesday night's 4-3 loss to Columbus, it is imperative for the Bruins to have a strong start against Buffalo.
"Probably goes without saying," said McQuaid. "We had a slow start and it really hurt us last game. Just need be ready to go from the drop of the puck and try to carry that through the rest of the game."

Liles Getting Closer

John-Michael Liles (concussion) has continued to skate with the team over the last two days after returning to practice on Tuesday in Columbus, but Julien does not believe the blue liner is particularly close to returning to game action.
"I haven't heard much as far as the next step. He's skating with us. He's got a little bit more involved. That, to me, shows he's inching closer, but I'm going to be honest they haven't given me anything that give me the impression that he's going to be in very soon," said Julien.
The nature of head injuries can make the recovery process a bit unpredictable.
"You don't want him to have a setback," said Julien. "I think it's important when you've waited this long to get well, especially the kind of injury it is - it's not like it's a shoulder or leg - it's a head injury that needs to be dealt with properly and cautiously."

Morning Option

The Bruins held an optional pregame skate Thursday morning. The session was well attended with David Backes, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Dominc Moore, and Tuukka Rask the only players to take the option.
Based on Wednesday afternoon's practice and the morning skate, it does not appear there will be any changes to the lineup:
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Ryan Spooner - David Krejci - David Backes
Frank Vatrano - Austin Czarnik - Riley Nash
Anton Blidh - Dominic Moore - Jimmy Hayes
Zdeno Chara - Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug - Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller - Colin Miller
Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin
Scratches: Noel Acciari, Tim Schaller