Having lost five of six for the first time since the 2009-10 season, the Bruins are in need of a spark as they begin their five-game road trip in Newark tonight for an important matchup against the New Jersey Devils.

After positioning themselves within striking distance of first place in the Atlantic Division, the Bruins have since plummeted down the standings. With 44 points, they sit tied for the final wild card spot in the East with the Ottawa Senators but have three games in hand against their Atlantic rivals. The two teams meet tomorrow night in the B’s second game of a back to back.

First things first, though, the Black and Gold will face a team who is one point ahead of them for the first wild card spot. The Devils have been quite surprising in the first half of the season thanks in large part to goaltender Cory Schneider. The former Boston College standout and native of Marblehead is in the top 10 in virtually every statistical category among goalies including goals against average (2.06, good for fifth), shutouts (sixth with 3) and save percentage (ninth, .927).

The Bruins will have a tall task tonight as they hope to jump Schneider and the Devils in the standings before Brad Marchand returns from his three-game suspension tomorrow night. Although the injury to Adam McQuaid is another blow to the blue-line depth, the return of David Pastrnak, who last skated in a game with the B’s on Halloween, could give the B’s offense, which has scored 14 goals in their last six games, a much-needed lift.

Gametime: 7:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 20-14-4 (44 points), Devils 20-16-5 (45 points)
Location: Prudential Center

Bruins projected lines

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

Zdeno Chara-Kevan Miller
Dennis Seidenberg-Colin Miller
Torey Krug-Joe Morrow

Jonas Gustavsson
Tuukka Rask

Devils projected lines

Jiri Tlusty-Travis Zajac-Kyle Palmieri
Lee Stempniak-Adam Henrique-Mike Sislo
Tuomo Ruutu-Sergey Kalinin-Stefan Matteau
Bobby Farnham-Stephen Gionta-Jordin Tootoo

Andy Greene-Adam Larsson
John Moore-Damon Severson
Jon Merrill-Eric Gelinas

Cory Schneider
Keith Kinkaid

Matchup to Watch: Gustavsson-Schneider Round 2

The Bruins will have another tough task ahead as they begin their road trip against Cory Schneider and the Devils. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

In the first meeting back on December 20th, Schneider, who recently was named to his first All-Star team, stonewalled the Bruins offense as he made 38 saves in 65 minutes of action. The goalie on the other side, Jonas Gustavsson, matched him stride for stride making 29 saves. Both netminders were on top of their game, but the Black and Gold got the hard-fought shootout win in the end.

Nearly three weeks later, Gustavsson gets the start again as he hopes to get the B’s back on track. He hasn’t started in 13 days, however, and his last performance against the Buffalo Sabres where the Black and Gold allowed five third period goals after taking a 3-1 lead was something he and the rest of the team wanted to forget. With two important points on the line, and with an early favorite as a Vezina Trophy finalist on the other side, one would think that Gustavsson would need to match Schneider’s performance again if the Black and Gold want to get back on track.

Storyline to Watch: Bruins look to get back on track on the road

Patrice Bergeron and the rest of the Bruins embark on a critical five-game road trip starting tonight in New Jersey. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

The road has been a friendly place for the Bruins in 2015-16, and this five-game trip can provide a good distraction coming off a tough three-game homestand, which also included the disastrous Winter Classic performance. The B’s are 11-3-2 away from TD Garden this season — a vastly different comparison to their 9-11-2 mark in front of the home crowd. In those 16 road games, the Black and Gold have outscored their opponents, 54-38.

With four potential playoff opponents on the road slate and another opponent who embarrassed the Black and Gold after Christmas, the Bruins can separate themselves from the pack of mediocrity in the East if they can duplicate their previous success away from Causeway Street. If they do, they need to somehow find a way to translate that road success into home wins in front of the faithful 17,565 at TD Garden.