The Bruins find themselves on the brink of being outside of the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

Having lost five regulation games in a row for the first time since January 2010, the Black and Gold enter must-win mode. What was once a 10 point lead over the ninth place teams in the East before their trip to California is now a mere one-point advantage over the Flyers (with two games in hand on the Bruins) and Red Wings (one game in hand).

Unlike their previous competition, the Bruins enter tonight’s game against a Leafs team that is trying to secure the right to draft Auston Matthews No. 1 in this June’s draft. Including tonight, five of the B’s next seven opponents currently sit in the bottom half of the East.

The Bruins never make anything look easy. Even against the lowly Leafs, it would not be surprising to see that trend continue.

Gametime: 7:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 39-28-8 (86 points), Maple Leafs 27-35-11 (65 points)
Location: Air Canada Centre

Bruins projected lines

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Lee Stempniak
Matt Beleskey-David Krejci-David Pastrnak
Frank Vatrano-Ryan Spooner-Loui Eriksson
Landon Ferraro-Noel Acciari-Jimmy Hayes

Zdeno Chara-Kevan Miller
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Joe Morrow-Dennis Seidenberg

Tuukka Rask
Jonas Gustavsson

Maple Leafs projected lines

Milan Michalek-Nazim Kadri-Michael Grabner
Zach Hyman-William Nylander-P.A. Parenteau
Connor Brown-Tyler Bozak-Brad Boyes
Colin Greening-Brooks Laich-Ben Smith

Martin Marincin-Morgan Reilly
Jake Gardiner-Connor Carrick
Riant Valiev-Frank Corrado

Jonathan Bernier
Garrett Sparks

Matchup to watch: Krejci line vs. Leafs blue-line

David Krejci has been held without a point in four straight games. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

During the Bruins’ seven-game run after the trade deadline where they went 5-0-2, the trio of David Krejci, David Pastrnak and Loui Eriksson (and at times Matt Beleskey) helped spark the team to within striking distance of first place in the Atlantic Division. Each forward played like they had a fire lit under them after trade talks (in the case of Eriksson), injuries (regarding Pastrnak and Krejci) and inconsistencies hampered them during the course of the season.

Since then, the second line has been MIA. Eriksson moved down to the third line with Frank Vatrano and Ryan Spooner to help the third line get back on track. Krejci and Pastrnak have been turnover machines that have led to goals and scoring chances the other way.

With the hope of Beleskey adding much-needed energy to the top-six, Krejci and Pastrnak — both of whom have been held scoreless in their last four games — need to keep things simple and not force any mistakes against a young Leafs defense. Even against the Toronto, those miscues can lead to chances the other way.

Storyline to watch: Will Bruins still be in a playoff spot by the end of the night?

Another loss against the Leafs could leave the Bruins out of a playoff spot by the end of the night. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

Just two weeks ago, the Bruins found themselves one point within first place of the Atlantic Division lead. Now, they sit one point ahead of the Red Wings and Flyers — both of whom are in action tonight against the Penguins and Coyotes, respectively.

Whether it’s chasing a game or a team in the standings, playing from behind hasn’t been a strong suit for the Black and Gold the last two seasons. Unlike previous years, they haven’t responded all that well to adversity. If that trend continues, they can very well be on the outside looking in of a playoff spot with six games left after tonight.