As they begin their December slate, the Bruins are still on the outside looking in of a possible playoff berth. With 25 points, the Black and Gold sit in a tie with the Devils – who have a game in hand – for the East’s final wild card spot and two points in back of a Tampa Bay Lightning squad that they’ve already beaten twice.

The Bruins’ opponent tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes, sit a few points behind Boston but are trending in a similar direction having gone 6-4-0 in their last 10 games.

This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams. Last year, the Hurricanes took two of three from the Bruins at TD Garden, including an early April contest that significantly impacted the Bruins’ hopes of returning to the playoffs. Being a well coached squad with Bill Peters at the helm, the Canes could very well be one of the surprising teams pushing for a wild card berth as the season progresses.

Gametime: 7:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 12-10-1 (25 points), Hurricanes 9-9-4 (22 points)
Location: TD Garden

Bruins projected lines

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak
Tim Schaller-David Krejci-David Backes
Matt Beleskey-Riley Nash-Austin Czarnik
Ryan Spooner-Dominic Moore-Jimmy Hayes

Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller-Brandon Carlo
Joe Morrow-Colin Miller

Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin

Hurricanes projected lines

Jeff Skinner-Victor Rask-Elias Lindholm
Sebastian Aho-Teuvo Teravanien-Lee Stempniak
Brock McGinn-Derek Ryan-Phil Di Giuseppe
Joakim Nordstrom-Jay McClement-Viktor Stalberg

Ron Hainsey-Justin Faulk
Jaccob Slavin-Brett Pesce
Noah Hanifin-Matt Tennyson

Cam Ward
Michael Leighton

Tonight’s storylines

– Like David Backes facing his former team last week, it’s Riley Nash’s turn to face his ex-teammates for the first time since signing with the Bruins on July 1. The former Cornell forward mainly saw third and fourth line duty in 242 games played tallying 31 goals and 50 assists during his four-year tenure with the Hurricanes. As some of the Bruins forwards caught the injury bug at one point this season, Nash has seen time on all four lines and he hopes that versatility pays off tonight against his former team as he skates with Matt Beleskey and Austin Czarnik on the third line.

“It’s a little different. I never had to do this before so, yeah, it’s exciting,” Nash said about facing the Hurricanes. “They’re doing fairly well and they’re playing a pretty good team game right now, and I think we’re getting back on track again, so it should be pretty good [tonight].”

– A duo that could give the Bruins defense fits without Zdeno Chara (lower body) for a fifth straight game are Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask. The two linemates on the Canes’ top trio have combined for 36 points on 17 goals and 19 assists and have each notched seven points in their last 10 games. Historically, however, the duo has struggled against the Bruins with Rask (no relation to Tuukka) still looking for his first point versus Boston while Skinner has seven points in 18 career games vs. the Black and Gold.

– Although he’s lost each of his last three starts, Cam Ward is playing arguably his best hockey over the last few years. After a rough October that saw him go 1-3-1 with a 3.64 goals against average and .869 save percentage, the 2002 first round pick bounced back in November in place of an injured Eddie Lack. In his 12 November starts, Ward went 6-4-2 with a 1.74 goals against average and .935 save percentage to keep the Hurricanes afloat. Come time for the Expansion Draft, the Canes may have a dilemma on which goalie to protect from their list, but Ward hopes to make that decision easier for GM Ron Francis and Carolina’s management team.