It took them a little while to get into a rhythm, but the Boston Bruins ended their five-game road trip on a high note with a solid 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Led by third period goals by Zdeno Chara, Ryan Spooner and an empty-netter from Brett Connolly (his second goal in the last 32 games), the Black and Gold flipped the script on their final 20 minutes of play — after blowing leads in New York and Philadelphia — to get a much-needed two points.

In a quick turnaround, the Bruins return to Boston as they await their matchup Saturday night with a Maple Leafs team who also played the night before in a loss against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. The B’s won both meetings against the Leafs in November.

With a Leafs team in transition, the Bruins hope to take advantage of another bottom feeding team to earn two points and a possibility of jumping to third place in the Atlantic Division by the end of the night.

Gametime: 7:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 22-16-5 (49 points), Maple Leafs 16-19-7 (39 points)
Location: TD Garden

Bruins projected lines

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

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

Tuukka Rask
Jonas Gustavsson

Maple Leafs projected lines

Shawn Matthias-Tyler Bozak-P.A. Parenteau
Michael Grabner-Nazem Kadri-Leo Komarov
Daniel Winnik-Peter Holland-Joffery Lupul
Josh Leivo-Byron Froese-Brad Boyes

Jake Gardiner-Dion Phaneuf
Martin Marincin-Morgan Reilly
Matt Hunwick-Roman Polak

Jonathan Bernier
James Reimer

Matchup to watch: Tuukka Rask vs. team that drafted him

Tuukka Rask has allowed three goals in two games vs. the Maple Leafs this season. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

Having not won a game since December 29th against the Senators, Tuukka Rask is hoping that his past success against the Leafs will come in handy. In 19 career games against the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2005 Draft, Rask is a stellar 13-3-1 with a goals against average of 1.80 and a .937 save percentage.

Like his first meeting against the Leafs, Rask is struggling heading into the third Bruins-Leafs contest. Over his last five games, the 2014 Vezina winner has allowed 15 goals and is 0-4-1 in that span with a 3.02 GAA and .900 SV%. Although the defense in front of him is partly to blame for this stretch, Rask is going to need to step up and has a good chance to do so tonight against a team that he’s already shutout earlier this season.

Storyline to watch: Can the Bruins make it two in a row?

Returning from a five-game road trip, the Bruins are looking for the second win in front of the TD Garden crowd tonight. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

Last night’s third period in Buffalo was a refreshing sight for Bruins. Sure, it might not have been pretty for the first half of the game, but the Black and Gold overcame an early deficit and finished the job against a team that’s still in their rebuilding process.

Like Friday, the Bruins face another rebuilding team tonight in Toronto. With points at a premium midway through the 2015-16 season, head coach Claude Julien and company are hoping to take care of business against a team well beneath them in the standings and hope to create a little separation in the Eastern Conference’s pack of mediocrity.