The Boston Bruins have strung together two solid performances in a row, most recently their come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden Tuesday night.

The Black and Gold trailed 3-2 against a very good Sharks team in the third period, but found themselves victorious in a complete team effort highlighted by their first line and the team’s four minute penalty kill to end the game with Patrice Bergeron in the penalty box.

The B’s are starting to find their identity and now have a chance to get over the .500 mark Thursday night as Johnny Boychuk and the New York Islanders invade TD Garden.

Here is your Bruins Daily Game day preview:

Game day details:

Time: 7:00 PM
Network: NESN/ 98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 4-4-0, 8 points/ Islanders 4-2-0, 8 points
Location: TD Garden

Bruins’ projected lines:

Milan Lucic- David Krejci- Seth Griffith
Brad Marchand- Patrice Bergeron- Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly- Carl Soderberg- Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille- Gregory Campbell- Simon Gagne

Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg-Torey Krug
Adam McQuaid- Matt Bartkowski

Niklas Svedberg
Tuukka Rask

Islanders projected lines:

Cory Conacher- John Tavares- Kyle Okposo
Nikolai Kulemin- Brock Nelson- Cal Clutterbuck
Josh Bailey- Frans Nielsen- Ryan Strome
Matt Martin- Casey Cizikas- Colin McDonald

Nick Leddy- Johnny Boychuk
Thomas Hickey- Travis Hamonic
Calvin de Haan- Brain Strait

Jaroslav Halak
Chad Johnson

Who to watch for Bruins: Milan Lucic

Lucic has suddenly looked like a different player over the last week compiling five points (five assists). He seems to be moving his feet much better and working along the walls considerably better with his line mates.

Of course, we all saw the melt down Lucic had in Montreal, but it seems as if he turned the page and he is strictly focusing on producing. The first line had a strong night in the Black and Gold’s 5-3 win over the Sharks and Lucic was in the middle of it all leading the charge along with David Krejci (1G 1A) and Seth Griffith who notched his first career NHL goal.

If the B’s want to keep the ball rolling, Lucic needs to contribute like he did against the Sharks on a nightly basis.

By playing physical and showing a good net front presence, Lucic can be the force the B’s know he can be moving forward.

Who to watch for Islanders: Johnny Boychuk

We know John Tavares is a tremendous player and that he is an up-and-coming star in the National Hockey League, but on this night Boychuk will most likely be the focus.

After spending six seasons with the Bruins, we know Boychuk will find playing against his former teammates inside a place he called home a month strange.

Boychuk is off to a great start for the Islanders with two goals and four assists in six games. He never scored more than five goals for the B’s and he is well on his way to surpass that somewhat soon.

“Johnny Rocket” was the upmost professional. He played hard, he played physical and he threw his body around with no regard, all because he was trying to help his team win a game. It will be no different on Thursday night just because he is playing his former team.

The Black and Gold seemed to be sick over the trade of Boychuk including General Manager Peter Chiarelli, but that’s the nature of the business. The B’s are in cap jail and needed to maneuver some players to free some money and Boychuk was the odd man out. He is off to a great start in New York and needs to be accounted for Thursday night.

Game day edge: Ignore Boychuk hype, continue winning streak

Johnny Boychuk will make his return to Boston a little over a month after his former team shipped him to New York for draft picks.

It will be emotional for some, but the Black and Gold must focus on getting that win streak to three games. Trades happen in all sports. Teams lose players and friends all the time. It’s no different here. When the B’s heard Boychuk was traded, they were shocked.

The B’s are turning the corner right now winners of three of four. They need to block out the non hockey non sense and stick to their game plan and execute it.

It should be just another ordinary game for the B’s where Claude Julien rolls all four lines, they chip pucks in deep and they work a good fore-check and back-check.

Boychuk has done a lot for the Bruins organization over the years, but on this night, he is on the opposing bench and the Black and Gold must focus on winning the game and getting another two points.