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Top-line winger Brad Marchand, who missed Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden with an upper-body injury, has rejoined the Bruins in Toronto and is expected to play in what will be the start of a back-to-back, home-and-home with the Maple Leafs.
"Marchand is one of our best players, one of the best players in the National Hockey League, so always great to have him back," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said.
"He brings so much energy, but also everything he does on the ice... his offensive production is going to help us all," linemate Patrice Bergeron said of Marchand. "He's a great player, we all know that, and we're happy to have him back."
Marchand is second among all B's skaters with eight goals and 14 points in 12 games this season.
In addition to Marchand, winger Noel Acciari, who has missed the last 13 games with a broken finger, is expected to rejoin the Bruins for his first game since Opening Night.
Anton Khudobin is expected to get the start in the B's crease. Khudobin has been working his way back from a lower-body injury for over a week now, but enters play with strong numbers, including a 3-0-1 record and .926 save percentage this season, including a 36-of-37 winning performance in his last appearance.
The Bruins are also catching a break with Auston Matthews' expected absence due to an upper-body injury. Matthews leads the Leafs in both goals (10) and points (19) this season.
Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.