With seven games left in the 2013 campaign, the Boston Bruins are still looking for consistency late in the season. They’ll have some good news tonight as Patrice Bergeron is cleared to play and could suit up in a crucial late-season showdown with the Ottawa Senators at the TD Garden.

Tonight marks the first game of a four-game homestand for the Black and Gold – that also includes a big showdown with Jarome Iginla and the Pittsburgh Penguins – as they look to garner momentum before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bruins currently stand in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 56 points and still trail the Northeast Division leading Montreal Canadiens by one point. With one point, the B’s will clinch a postseason berth for the sixth straight season.

Like the Bruins, the Sens have hit a bit of a crossroads late in the season and are 5-5-0 in their last 10. Ottawa stands in sixth with 48 points trailing its provincial rival Toronto Maple Leafs by three points for fifth.

Gametime: 7 p.m.
Location: TD Garden
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins (26-11-4, 56 points), Senators (21-14-6, 48 points)

Bruins’ projected lines

Milan Lucic-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Gregory Campbell-David Krejci-Jaromir Jagr
Daniel Paille-Chris Kelly-Nathan Horton
Kaspars Daugavins-Rich Peverley-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg-Matt Bartkowski
Johnny Boychuk-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin

Senators’ projected lines

Milan Michalek-Kyle Turris-Daniel Alfredsson
Cory Conacher-Mika Zibanejad-Jakob Silfverberg
Matt Kassian-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Erik Condra
Colin Greening-Zack Smith-Chris Neil

Patrick Wiercioch-Sergei Gonchar
Marc Methot-Eric Gryba
Chris Phillips-Andrei Benoit

Craig Anderson
Robin Lehner

Bruins to watch

Since he was named this week’s Bruins Daily Player of the Week earlier today, I guess it’s a good idea to watch Tyler Seguin. With goals in three straight games, Seguin is heating up at the right time, and assuming Bergeron comes back, the 21-year old forward could have an extra jump in his step tonight. The former second overall pick is using his playmaking abilities to his advantage and is being assertive in his drive to the net. Despite being bumpbed down the line chart, Seguin is certainly heating up.

With Andrew Ference a healthy scratch tonight, Dougie Hamilton will skate for the first time in two games. The rookie defenseman has hit a wall lately, but maybe he learned a thing or two after watching from the press box against the Isles and Canes. The 19-year old has played plenty of hockey between juniors and the pros, so a rest from that standpoint might not be a bad idea, either.

Senators to watch

Robin Lehner started in the first four games against the Bruins, but tonight Sens coach Paul MacLean is going with Craig Anderson. The former Colorado Avalanche netminder is 1-2 since coming back from an ankle injury, but is coming off a shutout of the New Jersey Devils Friday night. It’s safe to assume that MacLean will lean heavily on Anderson during the postseason, but coming into tonight he is just 3-8-0 in his career against the Bruins with a 3.45 goals against average and a .899 save percentage.

Bruins linkage

Milan Lucic looks to build off his goal in Saturday’s loss to Carolina (Joe Haggerty/CSNNE).

Providence Bruins forward Ryan Spooner had a highlight reel assist earlier this week (Sarah Connors/Stanley Cup of Chowder).

Hockey Buzz’s Ty Anderson tells Bruins fans to remain calm.

Senators linkage

Senators Extra gives their predictions for tonight’s game.

The 6th Sens examines the slumping Zack Smith.

Tweets of interest

Shameless plug alert: Bruins Daily is getting a brand new website on Thursday, and we couldn’t be happier!

For those who missed @_timrosenthal‘s announcement on @thwlive we are launching a new web design and interface on Thursday…

— Bruins Daily (@BruinsDaily) April 15, 2013

…Get ready #Bruins fans because the launch of the new BruinsDaily.com on Thursday is the start of some great things. Stay tuned!

— Bruins Daily (@BruinsDaily) April 15, 2013