Coming off their home and home sweep with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Boston Bruins roll into Sunday’s matchup with the New Jersey Devils with a 10-1-3 mark in their last 14 games. From the goaltending of Tuukka Rask to the improvements on defense and the continued consistency of the offense, the Black and Gold have found a formula for success.

That formula has vaulted Claude Julien’s squad to second place in the Atlantic Division. With all four lines rolling along, the Bruins could find themselves one point behind the struggling Montreal Canadiens for first place in the Atlantic by the end of the night.

The Devils come in having dropped three straight following their 2-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks last night. Still, head coach John Hynes has led his team to a surprising start as they sit two points behind the Florida Panthers for the final wild card spot.

Given the low expectations for both teams coming into the 2015-16 season, Hynes and Julien are early candidates for the Jack Adams Award given to the NHL’s coach of the year.

Stop by Porters Bar and Grill after Sunday’s Bruins-Devils game on 173 Portland Street for their fine selection of food and drinks!

Gametime: 5:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN/100.7 WZLX
Records: Bruins 18-9-4 (40 points), Devils 16-13-4 (36 points)
Location: TD Garden

Bruins projected lines

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Brett Connolly
Matt Beleskey-David Krejci-Loui Eriksson
Frank Vatrano-Ryan Spooner-Jimmy Hayes
Landon Ferraro-Max Talbot-Tyler Randell

Zdeno Chara-Adam McQuaid
Dennis Seidenberg-Colin Miller
Torey Krug-Kevan Miller

Jonas Gustavsson
Tuukka Rask

Devils projected lines

Michael Cammalleri-Adam Henrique-Lee Stempniak
Jiri Tlusty-Travis Zajac-Kyle Palmieri
Patrik Elias-Sergey Kalinin-Tyler Kennedy
Tuomo Ruutu-Stephen Gionta-Jacob Josefson

Andy Green-Adam Larsson
John Moore-Damon Severson
Jon Merrill-Eric Gelinas

Cory Schneider
Keith Kinkaid

Matchup to watch: Chara-McQuaid vs. Devils top line

Adam McQuaid has been solid since being paired with Zdeno Chara. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

The Devils roll into TD Garden having scored the fifth fewest goals in the league with 76. There is one line though that could give the Bruins trouble and that’s the top trio of Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique and Lee Stempniak. Having tallied 81 of the team’s 185 points, the Devils top line accounts for over 41 percent of the team’s offense.

Following their two games in which they kept Evgeni Malkin off the scoresheet, Zdeno Chara and Adam McQuaid will likely defend against the Cammalleri-Henrique-Stempniak trio. Chara and McQuaid have done fairly well since being paired by Julien earlier in the month and have helped the Bruins find their identity on the blue-line. The reliable top pairing will have another tall task tonight as the Black and Gold look to keep their hot streak going.

Storyline to watch: Can the Bruins keep it going

The Bruins hope to celebrate another victory and pull within one point of the Montreal Canadiens for first place in the Atlantic Division. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

Raise your hand if you thought the Bruins would be within striking distance of their hated rivals for first place in the Atlantic before the Christmas break? Anyone? Bueller?

Seeing as the Black and Gold have surprised fans and pundits alike to this point of the 2015-16 campaign, they still know they can improve. Having tallied points in 13 of their last 14 games, the B’s are playing some great hockey. Sure they had disappointing setbacks against the Flames, Predators and the Oilers (twice), but they are finding ways to bounce back from those losses.

While it’s easy to look ahead, the B’s know they have to stay focused on the task in hand. Tonight they look to take care of business aginst another team beneath them in the standings. As long as they follow their successful formula, they’ll have a good chance to take two points on any given night.