After two periods of play Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild the Boston Bruins were holding their heads high leading by two goals, which is almost a shoe-in to win under head coach Claude Julien. Well, that’s why they play the game. The Wild scored three unanswered goals to beat the Black and Gold 4-3 in the final 20 minutes of play. To add insult to injury, Torey Krug was slashed in the hand and is now sidelined two to three weeks with a broken finger leaving the B’s already depleted defense even in more of a hole.

Joe Morrow and David Warsofsky were recalled by the Bruins just 24 hours ago to give depth to the blue line. Both practiced with the team Wednesday afternoon. But, it will not be these two guys who will make the difference. The entire unit as a whole must play better by playing more physical in the corners and along the walls.

If there was ever a time to play a weaker team in the National Hockey League it is now and the B’s travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres Thursday night who they trampled last Saturday night 4-0 behind Niklas Svedberg’s first career shutout.

Here is your complete Bruins-Sabres preview:

Gametime: 7:00 PM
TV/Radio: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 5-6-0, 10 points/ Sabres 2-8-0, 4 points
Location: First Niagara Center

Bruins’ projected lines:

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

Dennis Seidenberg-Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski-Adam McQuaid
David Warsofsky-Zach Trotman

Niklas Svedberg
Tuukka Rask

Sabres’ projected lines:

Matt Moulson-Tyler Ennis-Drew Stafford
Torrey Mitchell-Zemgus Girgensons-Brian Gionta
Marcus Foligno-Cody McCormick-Chris Stewart
Nicolas Deslauriers-Sam Reinhart-Cody Hodgson

Josh Gorges-Tyler Myers
Mike Weber-Andrej Meszaros
Andre Benoit-Rasmus Ristolainen

Jhonas Enroth
Michal Neuvirth

Who to watch for Bruins: Seth Griffith

There were many questions being asked who will fill the void of Jarome Iginla on the first line alongside David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Seth Griffith is making a case to belong on that first line for good.

Coming off three-point performance (two goals, one assist) Tuesday night, Griffith is now tied for the team lead in goals with three along with Krejci and Carl Soderberg. It seems as if Griffith is more comfortable playing with Lucic and Krejci the more shifts he gets. The question is can he sustain this success?

As Julien pointed out in his post-game press conference Tuesday night, the first line scored a lot of goals last season and they did that by getting net drive. Both of Griffith’s goals against the Wild were due to his hustle toward the net. The rookie forward needs to do this on a nightly basis, and not take a night off from doing it.

If Griffith can stay consistent on the right wing, the Black and Gold may have something special here.

Who to watch for Sabres: Tyler Ennis

There isn’t much to worry about with the Buffalo Sabres. Their leading point-getter, Drew Stafford, has zero goals and owns a minus-6. The Sabres let up a lot of goals, hence the two wins on the season.

Tyler Ennis leads the team with three goals, but he is also a minus-5. Ennis hasn’t recorded a point in the last three games, but is somewhat of a threat to get through the Bruins depleted blue line.

The 25 year-old center compiled 21 goals and 22 assists last season. His minus-25 in 2013 wasn’t a highlight, but he can finish when given the opportunity.

The B’s must tighten up on the back end and see their forwards back check better than they did against a tired Wild team on Tuesday night.

Game day Edge: Score first and keep foot on gas pedal

The Bruins must take advantage of this opportunity to get back to the .500 mark despite all of their crucial injuries.

The Black and Gold need to get off to a fast start and play with the lead. They should not be playing from behind against an inferior Sabres team.

The first line with Lucic playing the way he is should create a mismatch against a defensively challenged team. And while Julien shook up the lines at practice on Wednesday, they should still provide enough firepower in Buffalo.

Even without the services of Krug, Zdeno Chara and Kevan Miller, the Bruins should be able to get another two points in their second meeting of the season with the Sabres.