After coming off one of their worst losses of the season Sunday in Carolina against the Hurricanes, the Boston Bruins will now face one of the powerhouses in the Eastern conference, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sunday’s performance in their 2-1 shootout loss was an embarrassment. The Black and Gold came out flat and did not register a shot on goal until there were three minutes left in the first period then followed that up with two shots in the third period. There was no urgency, effort or most importantly desire to win.

Related: Bruins hit rock bottom after shootout loss to Canes

The Penguins are a different breed compared to the last two teams the B’s have played and they have only mustered two points in those two games.

The last time these two teams played Zdeno Chara and David Krejci were out with injuries. Chara, who matches up against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at times, was missed significantly. The duo combined for three goals and two assists on the night en route to a 3-2 overtime victory.

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Here is your complete Bruins-Penguins Preview:

Gametime: 8:00 PM
Records: Bruins 19-15-6 (44 points), Penguins 24-10-5 (53 points)
TV/Radio: NBCSN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
Location: CONSOL Energy Center

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-Craig Cunningham

Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg-Adam McQuaid
Torey Krug-Kevan Miller

Tuukka Rask
Niklas Svedberg

Penguins’ projected lines:

David Perron-Sidney Crosby-Steve Downie
Nick Spaling-Evgeni Malkin-Beau Bennett
Chris Kunitz-Brandon Sutter-Bryan Rust
Andrew Ebbett-Marcel Goc-Craig Adams

Paul Martin-Kris Letang
Christian Ehrhoff-Robert Bortuzzo
Rob Scuderi-Simon Despres

Marc-Andre Fleury
Thomas Greiss

Who to watch for Bruins: Milan Lucic

Milan Lucic was excited to get 2014 over with. He reiterated 2015 was a fresh start for his team and himself.

Well, in two games in 2015, Lucic is playing exactly like he did in 2014. In those two games, the 26 year-old has recorded zero goals, zero assists and a minus-1 rating.

On Boston.com: Milan Lucic – ‘It wasn’t a good 2014. I’m happy it’s over.’

The $6 million man has six goals in 39 games to go along with his miniscule 18 points. Lucic hasn’t scored a goal since December 16th at Nashville, a span of nine games. Before that goal, the left-winger didn’t record a goal since November 28th where he actually scored in back-to-back games, one game being against the Penguins.

The entire team hasn’t played up to its expectations this season. Not one player has even come close of what they are capable of. Lucic may be at the top of that list. In his last eight games, the power forward has a grand total of zero goals, three assists and a minus-3 rating.

The last time Lucic played against the Penguins, he contributed with one goal, two penalty minutes, three shots and over 17 minutes of ice time. If the Black and Gold stand a chance against Pittsburgh, Lucic will need to bring the effort he did last time against Sidney Crosby’s team not his effort he did on Sunday.

Who to watch for Penguins: Sidney Crosby

It’s no secret who the Bruins will be keying in on Wednesday night. It’s a good thing Chara is in the lineup though because Crosby had his way the last time these two teams met in Boston. The 2005 first overall pick finished the night with a goal and two assists including the game-winning assist to Evgeni Malkin seconds into overtime.

Crosby has a goal and five assists in his last five games. That makes his assist total at 32 on the year which ranks him second in the NHL. Despite playing in three fewer games than his fellow counterpart, ‘Sid the Kid’ is tied for the point lead on his team with Malkin at 43 on the season.

In his career against the Black and Gold, Crosby has 11 goals and 27 assists in 26 games played including four power-play goals.

In 20 home games this season, the 27 year-old has six goals and 17 assists to along with a plus-6 rating.

Chara will look to keep Crosby in check by being as physical as he can be. It has worked before, but the Black and Gold’s confidence is reeling at the moment.

Game Day Edge: Play with some fire

Brad Marchand and Torey Krug got into a tussle in Tuesday’s practice leaving it to teammates and coaches to separate them. Later, the two were smiling and leading the team stretch together.

That being said, the Black and Gold need to play with intensity. Their starts to games have been anemic. They are slow and almost look disinterested. We all point back to the Detroit Red Wings game where they came out and scored three goals in the first period and never looked back by playing a full 60 minutes. What happened to that team and effort?

The season has been “unacceptable” according to their new CEO Charlie Jacobs and he is right. With the talent and money spent on this team, the least they can do is play with an edge and it doesn’t even seem they are doing that right now.

Maybe a game against the league’s best in their building will get them going.