Fifth Liner

The Bruins are back at it in Toronto against the Maple Leafs tonight at 7:30PM on NESN.

• It has been a busy couple of days off for the Bruins since the loss to the Oilers- Tuukka Rask was ill, Drew Stafford and his wife welcomed twins, and Patrice Bergeron took a maintenance day. Noel Acciari and Sean Kuraly have joined the team in Toronto. Boston Globe
• Don’t worry about Rask, he would be happy to play back-to-back if the upcoming schedule of games required it. WEEI
• The Bruins will strive to slow down the Leafs and rein in William Nylander, whose hat trick in their previous meeting sunk their hopes for a win. CBS Boston
• Leafs coach Mike Babcock rues the day he slotted Brad Marchand with Bergeron and Sidney Crosby for Team Canada- now his team is left trying to squelch the energized Marchand. (With video) Sportsnet
• Stop me if you’ve heard this- tonight’s game is pretty much a must-win. It is also the last game of the season against Toronto we hope! (With video) NESN
• Not to get too far ahead, but up next this week are the Senators, Lightning, and Islanders, who are all scrabbling with the Bruins for a berth in the playoffs. (With video) Patriot Ledger
• The Las Vegas Knights expansion draft will leave the Bruins protecting some players while crossing their fingers regarding the fate of others. Here’s how it looks to play out, and why. Boston Herald
• Colin Miller seems to have found his footing on the third pairing on his off-side (relieving Kevan Miller to return to his own strong side) and having toned down some of his more adventurous offensive instincts. Boston Globe
• The video of the Pizza Rat calling for his postgame pie has become a Twitter hit. Boston Herald
• Meanwhile, in Providence, the PBruins beat the Thunderbirds on Saturday, MassLive they lost to the Comets yesterday- even an Anton Blidh fight couldn’t spark the team. (With video) ABC6

Elsewhere around the rink:

• The Underrated- a bunch of NHLers are toiling to keep their teams in the playoff mix without much fanfare, here are a few that come to mind. ESPN
• Congratulations to the Blue Jackets , who clinched a playoff berth under new coach John Tortorella. This is happy news for the team, and for Columbus. Jackets Cannon
• Guy Boucher has mellowed somewhat over time, and it has contributed to his success behind the bench in Ottawa. Chronicle Herald
• Former Bruin Blake Wheeler, now captain of the Jets, has reached a career milestone. The Score
• Gaze into the crystal ball and see what the Eastern Conference playoff standings will look like. We’ll see... Last Word on Hockey
• Pack your thermal underwear and take a peek behind the curtain at the life of an NHL scout, where the eyes have it and numbers only speak to part of a young player’s potential. NHL
• I’ve been everywhere... Springfield Thunderbirds goalie Mike McKenna has played for fifteen teams (some places twice, and he was only traded once) in his 12 year career. Uprooting his young family has been increasingly difficult. MassLive