After an insane start to the season that featured seven games in the opening 11 days, the Boston Bruins return to the ice after their first two-day layoff of the year, as they play host to the San Jose Sharks tonight. On the positive side of a 4-0 final in Buffalo this past Saturday, the Bruins will once again try to string together consecutive wins, something that’s eluded them in two prior attempts this month.

But their bid for consistency (in a good way, that is) will be challenged by an injury to Kevan Miller.

Ruled out indefinitely with a dislocated shoulder, the Bruins will -- and stop me if you’ve heard this before -- have to rely on the rest of their defense to pick up the slack and physicality lost with Miller’s diagnosis.

“You always fear the worst and hope for the best. No matter what at the end of the day you live with it. You make the adjustments,” B’s coach Claude Julien told reporters when asked about the injury. “Other players have opportunities and it’s up to them to seize those and you move on here. Again, you hear me say that numerous times. You control what you can control and that’s something I can’t.”

With Miller out, oft-criticized defenseman Matt Bartkowski will jump back into the lineup and suit up on the third pairing with the 6-foot-5 Adam McQuaid. Bartkowski, a minus-2 and on the ice for the game-winning goal against, could find his rhythm in a limited role with a partner like McQuaid. This move will also bump the 5-foot-9 Torey Krug on up to the club’s second defensive pairing on the right side opposite 33-year-old veteran shot-blocker Dennis Seidenberg. The promotion for Krug gives the second-year pro the opportunity to prove that he’s more than an offensive specialist.

“He’s shown some good offense and right now we’ve talked about his defense improving. He’s not a big guy, he’s not going to out-muscle guys he’s gotta outsmart guys. That’s what you want but at the same time when he plays on those kind of pairs it gives him an opportunity to play with top lines too that could use the offense,” Julien said of Krug and the move up to the middle pairing. “So there’s a lot of things that go into play and sometimes the other team might have real big heavy guys and we think he’s better off playing on the third pair, so that’s coaching. I say it all the time, that’s just coaching, looking at what you have and who you’re playing against. There’s never a rhyme and a reason for every time you see a change.”

You can also expect Seth Griffith to draw back into the lineup on the club’s top line.

Standing in their way of the year’s first winning streak are the San Jose Sharks, a team that straight-up confused a lot of people all summer long. After choking away a 3-0 series lead (Boston feels your pain, guys), the Sharks added John Scott (this is where a confused-face-emoji goes) and did everything they could to make veteran top-sixers Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton feel alienated from the team. Along with a summer full of rumors, they stripped Thornton of the captaincy, and told reporters that they’re looking to the future of their franchise (read as: definitely not you, Joe and Patrick).

But the duo’s still in teal, and that’s still, probably-definitely-absolute for the best for San Jose.

Marleau’s four goals are tops among Sharks, and Thornton’s five assists are the most by any San Jose forward. And barring a dramatic change in who they are as players, they’re still not going to be the actual reason why the Sharks falter in the playoffs in 2015 (if they do, of course).

The Sharks are a respectable 4-1-1 on the year, with three of those four wins coming on the road.

The Masked Men: Antti Niemi vs. Tuukka Rask

After sitting out Sunday’s loss to the New York Rangers, Antti Niemi will get the start for the Sharks. Stopping 35-of-37 shots thrown his way in a win over New Jersey in his last start, the 31-year-old Niemi brings an absolute dynamite career record against the Bruins to the ice tonight. In just seven career starts against the Bruins, Niemi has five wins, a 1.70 goals against average, and a filthy .930 save percentage.

Boston counters with Tuukka Rask. In what will be his first start since being pulled from last Thursday’s 6-4 loss to Montreal -- a game where the defending Vezina surrendered five goals on just 23 shots against -- Rask looks to get back on track in what’s been a slow start to his third-year as the face of the B’s crease. In five games this year, the 27-year-old has posted just two wins, and an ugly .870 save percentage. That save percentage is good for 50th among NHL goaltenders this year, too. Fortunately for Rask, his career sample against the Sharks is real real strong, as Rask has two wins and .985 save percentage in two games.

Stats of Note

Reilly Smith, a former Dallas Star, has zero points in four career games against San Jose.

B’s center Patrice Bergeron is just one point away from the 500th of his NHL career.

Carl Soderberg has three assists in three home games this year.

Former Bruin Joe Thornton has two goals and five points in nine career games against Boston.

The Sharks have won 24 of the last 31 games in which Joe Pavelski has scored a goal.

News and notes

With Griffith back with the club on the club’s top line, you can expect Simon Gagne to bump on back down to the fourth line, at least to start the night. Gagne has one goal on four shots this season.

Matt Fraser is expected to serve as the healthy scratch.

The Bruins took both meetings against San Jose last year.

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