Having lost eight of their last eleven games, the Boston Bruins are in need of some sort of spark. That may take awhile to either acquire another piece to the puzzle or for someone to deliver that spark from within the organization, but at the very least they need to build some sort of momentum heading into 2017 as they begin their home and home with the Sabres looking for a much-needed sweep to close out 2016.

As they struggle with consistency, the Bruins still find themselves hanging on to the third place spot in the Atlantic Division. But the distance between them and the Tampa Bay Lightning is now down to one point following the Bolts’ 4-3 win over the Habs. A loss of any kind and a Bolts win over the Leafs would put the Black and Gold down to fourth in the division.

The more pressing issue for the Bruins, however, is based on performance, especially if the last two games are any indicator. A slow start against Columbus where they trailed 3-0 and nearly came from behind only to fall short against the hottest team in the league. A bad finish in their overtime loss to the Hurricanes washed away a 2-0 lead.

Tonight, the Bruins will be searching for a full 60-minute effort against a team beneath them in the standings – something that continues to haunt them – and proverbialy stop the bleeding before returning to TD Garden on New Year’s Eve.

Gametime: 7:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 18-15-4 (40 points), Sabres 13-13-8 (34 points)
Location: KeyBank Center

Bruins projected lines

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak
Ryan Spooner-David Krejci-David Backes
Frank Vatrano-Austin Czarnik-Riley Nash
Anton Blidh-Dominic Moore-Jimmy Hayes

Zdeno Chara-Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller-Colin Miller

Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin

Sabres projected lines

Marcus Foligno-Jack Eichel-Matt Moulson
Zemgus Girgensons-Sam Reinhart-Kyle Okposo
Evander Kane-Johan Larsson-Brian Gionta
Nicolas Deslauriers-Derek Grant-Will Carrier

Dmitry Kulikov-Rasmus Ristolainen
Jake McCabe-Zach Bogosian
Josh Gorges-Justin Falk

Robin Lehner
Anders Nilsson

Tonight’s storylines

– All season long, the Bruins have been looking for their best players to step up. Tuesday night in Columbus, the second line of David Krejci, David Backes and Ryan Spooner put the team on their backs in their comeback effort, but they hardly got much else outside of the aforementioned trio, especially from the top line of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. Tuukka Rask – though he was hung out to dry in a couple of instances – hardly showed his Vezina form and Zdeno Chara and the rest of the blue-line kept missing assignments in front of the net. Whether it’s getting more traffic in front of Lehner or providing layers on the back end, the Bruins need a well-rounded effort and it all starts with their core players.

– Former Boston University standout and Chelsmford native Jack Eichel broke a four-game scoreless drought with a goal and an assist during the Sabres’ 4-3 win over the Red Wings on Tuesday. Although they are 6-7-0 since his return to the lineup, Eichel is picking up right where he left off from his rookie season tallying 10 points. The Bruins were able to hold him in check the last time the two teams met on December 3rd and they’ll be looking to do the same thing tonight as Eichel tries to carry more of the load with Ryan O’Reilly’s injury.