Bruins at Maple Leafs preview

BRUINS (11-3-4) at MAPLE LEAFS (9-7-4)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TVAS, TSN4, NESN, NHL.TV

The Bruins are 0-2-2 in their past four games, including a 5-4 shootout loss against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, a game they led 4-0 entering the third period.
The Maple Leafs, who are 0-2-1 in their past three games, will be without center Alex Kerfoot, who is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair dental fractures sustained Nov. 5 against the Los Angeles Kings.

Players to watch

Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past eight games.
Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) during a five-game point streak.

They said it

"Good depth throughout the organization. The coaching staff is willing to use younger guys and put them in positions where we make it clear what we're expecting, no more, no less. We have enough good players to support the younger guys, and other than that, I know it sounds cliché, but it's next man up. We've been able to buy into that and it has to do with our top guys recognizing they have to do a little more some nights to help guys along." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy
"We've seen these guys a lot. The Bergeron line is probably the best line in hockey and they've been on fire as of late, pretty much all season. It's always a challenge to match up against a line like that and try to shut them down. We want to stay patient and make sure we're doing our job from a defensive side of things." -- Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Anders Bjork -- David Krejci -- Charlie Coyle
Joakim Nordstrom -- Sean Kuraly -- Chris Wagner
Trent Frederic -- Par Lindholm -- Danton Heinen
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk -- Brandon Carlo
Urho Vaakanainen -- Connor Clifton
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched: Steven Kampfer
Injured: John Moore (shoulder), Kevan Miller (knee), Karson Kuhlman (fractured right tibia), Brett Ritchie (upper body), David Backes (upper body), Jake DeBrusk (lower body), Torey Krug (upper body), Zach Senyshyn (lower body)

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Kasperi Kapanen
Ilya Mikheyev -- Jason Spezza -- Trevor Moore
Nic Petan -- Nicholas Shore -- Frederik Gauthier
Morgan Rielly -- Cody Ceci
Jake Muzzin -- Tyson Barrie
Travis Dermott -- Justin Holl
Frederik Andersen
Kasimir Kaskisuo
Scratched: Dmytro Timashov, Martin Marincin
Injured: Mitchell Marner (ankle), Alexander Kerfoot (dental fractures)

Status report

Krug will miss the next two games, but Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said he hopes the defenseman can play next week. … Spezza, who was scratched from a 5-4 loss against the New York Islanders on Wednesday, will replace Kerfoot in the lineup.

Stat pack

Krejci has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past seven games. … Nylander has five points (four goals, one assists) during a three-game point streak. … Tavares has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past four games.