Bruins at Oilers
The Boston Bruins have limped to an 0-3-1 record in their last four contests, allowing other teams to chip into their rather sizable lead in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins look to snap their skid and extend their winning streak against the Edmonton Oilers to 14 games when the teams meet at Rexall Place on Wednesday. Boston experienced quite the letdown against the other Alberta franchise, as it saw a three-goal advantage evaporate and yielded the winning tally at 4:58 of overtime in a 4-3 loss to Calgary on Monday.
The sputtering Bruins are clinging to a two-point lead over Florida for eighth place in the East. The standings lost their meaning long ago for Edmonton, which resides comfortably in the cellar of the Western Conference. Nail Yakupov scored twice on Monday and has collected three goals and as many assists during his five-game point streak, but the Oilers dropped a 5-4 shootout decision to Winnipeg to wrap up a 2-3-1 road trip.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), RSN (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (28-20-8): Tuukka Rask has lost his last four starts, and coach Claude Julien admitted that Malcolm Subban will make his NHL debut either in Wednesday's game or Friday's tilt versus St. Louis. The 24th overall pick of the 2012 draft, Subban served as Rask's backup for four games following his first recall on Jan. 30. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton notched an assist versus the Flames and has recorded three points in his last four contests but scored a goal and set up two others in a 5-2 victory over Edmonton on Nov. 6.
ABOUT THE OILERS (16-32-10): Edmonton's goaltending carousel on Wednesday is expected to turn to Richard Bachman, who entered Monday's game in the shootout after Viktor Fasth suffered a knee injury. The 27-year-old Bachman didn't instill much confidence in his relief role on Saturday, however, permitting four goals on 27 shots in a 7-2 setback to Ottawa. Boyd Gordon tallied in the previous meeting with Boston but has been held off the scoresheet in each of his last 10 games.
OVERTIME
1. Bruins D Kevan Miller re-injured his shoulder versus Calgary and traveled back to Boston to be evaluated, Julien said on Tuesday.
2. Edmonton captain and former Bruins D Andrew Ference missed the first meeting between the clubs as he was serving the middle contest of a three-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head.
3. The Bruins are 0-for-8 on the power play in the last three games.