With last night’s win over the Devils — their 3,000th in franchise history — the Boston Bruins pulled ahead of New Jersey for the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Their opponent tonight, the Ottawa Senators, are two points behind the Black and Gold, but the B’s have two games in hand on their Atlantic Division rivals.

A win tonight with a returning Brad Marchand would give the Bruins some separation from the Sens in the standings. And after the fireworks from last game, B’s and Sens fans should be in for some entertaining hockey tonight in Canada’s capital city.

Gametime: 7:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 21-14-4 (46 points), Senators 19-16-6 (44 points)
Location: Canadian Tire Centre

Bruins projected lines

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Loui Eriksson
Matt Beleskey-Ryan Spooner-David Pastrnak
Frank Vatrano-Joonas Kemppainen-Brett Connolly
Zac Rinaldo-Landon Ferraro-Jimmy Hayes

Zdeno Chara-Zach Trotman
Dennis Seidenberg-Colin Miller
Torey Krug-Kevan Miller

Tuukka Rask
Jonas Gustavsson

Senators projected lines

Bobby Ryan-Kyle Turris-Mark Stone
Mike Hoffman-Mika Zibanejad-Milan Michalek
Max McCormick-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Curtis Lazar
Shane Prince-Zack Smith-Chris Neil

Frederick Claesson-Erik Karlsson
Patrick Weircioch-Cody Ceci
Marc Methot-Mark Borowiecki

Craig Anderson
Andrew Hammond

Matchup to watch: Bruins-Sens bottom six

Max Talbot and Jimmy Hayes celebrate one of Hayes’ goals against the Sens on December 29th. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

Whether Max Talbot, Brett Connolly or Landon Ferraro suit up tonight, the Bruins bottom six will try to duplicate their success against the Sens from the last meeting. Led by Jimmy Hayes’ first career hat trick, the third and fourth lines accounted for six points (three goals, three assists) during Boston’s 7-3 victory on December 29th at TD Garden.

Whether the Bruins’ bottom six can duplicate their success against the Sens in the third meeting of the season remains to be seen. Following the wild third period where 82 penalty minutes were assessed in the final minute of play, it would not be surprising if one of the third or fourth liners try to drop the gloves early, particularly Zac Rinaldo and Chris Neil.

Storyline to watch: Marchand makes his return

Brad Marchand returns from a three-game suspension tonight in Ottawa. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

December 29th marked Marchand’s last contest. Three games after clipping Mark Borowiecki, the “Little Ball of Hate” returns from his three-game suspension tonight in Ottawa.

Will the Sens have payback in mind for Marchand after what he did to Borowiecki? Will Marchand’s worst side get to him again? Or will one of Boston’s leading scorers find a way to be productive and help the Black and Gold to a victory in the second game of their pivotal five-game road trip?

The Bruins are 15-2-3 this season when Marchand records a point. The loyal Black and Gold supporters are hoping that this omen will help their team to victory on Saturday night.