Boston @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 23, 2019 ) Toronto 1, Boston 5

The Toronto Maple Leafs will face a familiar rival without a familiar face in the lineup on Saturday, as they host the Boston Bruins in the opener of a home-and-home series with captain John Tavares expected to be in the press box. Tavares sustained a broken finger after he was hit by a shot from defenseman Morgan Rielly in Toronto's 4-3 loss to Washington.

"(After) Morgan's shot late in the third, (the finger) went pretty numb," Tavares said Friday. "So, it didn't feel very good and I just went back to the bench and it was a little more painful but the adrenalin and the inflammation really hadn't set in." While the 29-year-old Tavares was able to score his third goal in four contests, the Maple Leafs fell for the fourth time in their last six heading into a rematch against the team that ousted them in back-to-back seven-game, first-round series. David Pastrnak was instrumental in leading Boston to victory in both of those series and enters Saturday's tilt on a five-game point streak (eight goals, five assists). "Obviously, it's going in for me now," the 23-year-old Czech said following a 4-3 shootout loss to Tampa Bay. "But, unfortunately, we were unable to get two points (Thursday) so that's all that matters. ... I'm just feeling good on the ice, so I'm trying to do my best for the team and focusing on playing my hockey and how I can help this team."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, NESN (Boston), CBC, Sportsnet1 (Toronto)

ABOUT THE BRUINS (5-1-1): Pastrnak's linemate, Patrice Bergeron, is expected to be in the lineup Saturday despite nursing a lower-body injury. While that's positive news for Boston, the club likely will be without David Krejci and Joakim Nordstrom after the forwards sustained upper-body issues in Thursday's loss to the Lightning. Coach Bruce Cassidy labeled each of the ailing players as day-to-day, with Krejci's injury being "worse than we thought."

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (4-3-1): Tavares' expected two-week injury absence creates an opportunity for Alex Kerfoot, who found himself skating on the second line with Marner and Ilya Mikheyev in Friday's practice. Jason Spezza assumed Kerfoot's traditional spot on the third line with Kasperi Kapanen and Trevor Moore and also skated in William Nylander's spot on the second power-play unit, with the latter being elevated to the top pairing with Auston Matthews, Marner, Andreas Johnsson and Rielly. Mikheyev has three points (two goals, one assist) over his last three games and is tied for second among NHL rookies in goals scored (three).

OVERTIME

1. Boston G Jaroslav Halak, who has been confirmed to be in net for Saturday's tilt, sports a 10-4-4 record with a 2.85 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in 19 career starts versus Toronto.

2. Maple Leafs D Jake Muzzin set up Tavares' third-period goal on Thursday to boost his point total to three (one goal, two assists) in his last three games.

3. The Original Six rivals will conclude their home-and-home set in Boston on Tuesday.

PREDICTION: Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 2