The desperate times continue on Causeway Street as the Bruins head into one of their more important weeks of the season.

With two games left prior to the all-star break, embattled coach Claude Julien and company currently sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference after Toronto’s 4-0 shutout of Calgary Monday night. With every team having games in hand on the Black and Gold, they could fall even further in the standings if they can’t stop the bleeding.

Tonight, the Bruins hope to avenge one of their embarrassing losses last week against the Red Wings at TD Garden. As if anyone needs a reminder when the last two teams met six days ago, the Bruins had a 4-1 first period lead only to see that evaporate and eventually losing in the shootout.

They may not have the talent, as Julien alluded to after the 5-1 loss to the Penguins on Sunday, but the Bruins need to have a better work ethic than what we saw last week – starting tonight. Otherwise, they may be better off positioning themselves for a better draft pick come June.

Gametime: 7:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 23-21-6 (52 points), Red Wings 20-19-8 (48 points)
Location: TD Garden

Bruins projected lines

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

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

Tuukka Rask
Zane McIntyre

Red Wings projected lines

Gustav Nyquist-Henrik Zetterberg-Anthony Mantha
Andreas Athanasiou-Frans Nielsen-Tomas Tatar
Justin Abdelkader-Riley Sheahan-Tomas Jurco
Steve Ott-Darren Helm-Luke Glendening

Dan DeKeyser-Mike Green
Jonathan Ericsson-Xavier Ouellet
Niklas Kronwall-Nick Jensen

Petr Mrazek
Jared Coreau

Tonight’s storylines

– Before Friday’s game against the Blackhawks, David Backes called the plane ride home from Detroit the quietest plane ride of the season and said it hit the team where it mattered. Well, Backes and company are still hurting in the two games since having scored just one goal. In desperate times, the Bruins need to show that desperation before it’s too late.

– It seems the migraine issues with Tuukka Rask have been solved. After being pulled from Sunday’s game against the Penguins and missing Monday’s practice, the first-time All-Star joined the team for the optional morning skate. Barring a setback or any other circumstance, he should get the nod for the next two games before heading to Los Angeles with Brad Marchand and the rest of the league’s elite.

– The Bruins will get a little help on the blue-line with the likely returns of Kevan (concussion) and Colin Miller (lower body). The pair will likely replace John-Michael Liles and Joe Morrow, who have both been liabilities since the Miller’s suffered their respective injures. Though consistency has been an issue for both Miller’s, their upside and complimentary styles of play (Kevan being more physical and Colin being more offensive minded) are a better mesh against a young but improving Red Wings squad.