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Zdeno Chara skates during pre-game warmup against New Jersey on Tuesday (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

The Boston Bruins are making a late charge, and it is coming at exactly the right time.

After a thrilling 60 minutes of scoreless hockey, Patrice Bergeron finally notched a goal in the closing seconds of overtime to squeak out a 1-0 win over New Jersey. The game felt like a desperate playoff contest: battles for every loose puck, excellent goaltending, and heightened physical play.

By beating the fourth-place Devils, the B’s managed to cling on to a playoff spot. With only six games to play, Boston is in a three-way tie for sixth in the conference with Montreal and Philadelphia. Tonight proved that as long as they keep Tuukka Rask in net, they have a chance to win despite their sour offensive attack.

In Rask’s last two appearances, he has absolutely locked down the pipes. Rask flawlessly cleaned up Tim Thomas’ mess yesterday, nearly allowing the B’s to squeak out a point or two against Buffalo. Finally, he was able to contribute to one of the most important games of the year, powering Boston to yet another shutout victory.

Although Thomas shut down Calgary on Saturday, Rask has clearly established himself as the starting goaltender heading toward the postseason. He continues to add to his league best goals against average, which now sits at 2.08 ahead of even Buffalo’s Ryan Miller. If the Bruins manage to sneak up the standings and play either Buffalo or New Jersey in the first round, it could make for one of the more exciting first round playoff series.

Patrice Bergeron celebrates a 1-0 victory in New Jersey on Tuesday (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

The Boston Bruins held on to eighth place on Tuesday, setting the table to control their own destiny with six games remaining (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

Patrice Bergeron snapped the puck into an open net past Martin Brodeur to seal the overtime victory Tuesday (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

Another positive of late has been the Bruins road record. In the team’s last 13 road games, they are 9-3-1. They will face two tough road tests in April against Washington, who leads the conference. The major goal will be to play well enough to avoid a playoff matchup with the Capitals, who have dominated the B’s this season.

With Boston’s amount of overtime losses this year, they will likely have to top either the Canadiens or Flyers outright to avoid eighth place. When points are deadlocked, the first tiebreaker is wins, which the Bruins lack. What they do not lack are close games, which offers them incredible versatility moving forward. The continuous overtime format of the postseason could prove crucial for Boston. They will have the opportunity to grit out games rather than have flashier, higher-scoring teams steal shootouts.

Boston will get right back to work Thursday against Florida, who are 10 points back and virtually out of the race. Atlanta was able to keep pace tonight against Toronto. The New York Rangers beat the Islanders to also stay in the hunt.

Tim Kennedy of the Sabres celebrates a goal as the Sabres got three unanswered to top the Bruins 3-2 last night (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

Four teams are already planning on a trip to the postseason in the Eastern Conference, and the Bruins want nothing more than to join them.

As it stands now, the Bruins are in the eighth and final spot in the East, with a game in hand on each of the two teams in sixth: the Flyers and Canadiens. Although there were some moments where it looked like they might be hitting the links in April, the Bruins have been a sight for sore eyes of late. It seems as though some sort of energy has finally clicked, and the black and gold have been scraping hard to continue skating after their 82-game regular season is over.

With a loss to the Sabres last night, the Bruins fell to 34-29-12 on the season, and have finally lost a game in regulation to Buffalo. Ryan Miller and company have already secured a spot in the postseason, and last night’s win left them just a point shy of Pittsburgh, who are second place in the Eastern Conference.

Should the stars align and the Bruins and Sabres meet in the playoffs, Boston fans would have to be somewhat confident since they have finished the season series at 3-1-1 against the Sabres. With Philadelphia faltering lately (3-5-2 in their last 10), the Bruins could very well climb into seventh in the conference by seasons end. Montreal will be tougher to surpass, playing excellent hockey at 6-2-2 in their last 10.

Last night, Boston fell behind 2-1 in the first after David Krejci notched the first goal of the contest. Buffalo upped their lead to 3-1 after 2 periods, and held off a third period surge to survive with a 3-2 win.

The Bruins will play the New Jersey Devils tonight at the Prudential Center in New Jersey (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

Although the play of the Sabres has been shaky since the Olympic break, they have been able to maintain the third-best record in the East, just holding off New Jersey by a point. Incidentally, Bruins will play the Devils tonight in a game were they desperately need points to keep their playoff hopes alive.

After picking up Ilya Kovalchuk, the Devils have increased their chances of going deep into the playoffs. They are also amongst the “big four” in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins may have to dig deep to find a way to skate off with points against New Jersey, who have not lost to the Bruins this season. Although hopes may not be high tonight, every game between these two clubs has been decided by one goal (one of which went to a shootout). In a situation where two points grants Bosto a three-way tie with Philly and the Habs, tonight’s game may be a good preview of the desperation so common in postseason hockey.

Outside looking in:

Other games that may affect the Bruins standings tonight include two matchups that involve four teams outside of eighth place. The Thrashers, just two points behind the Bruins, will face the Maple Leafs, the last place team in the conference, who are surprisingly 7-2-1 in their last ten contests. The other game Bruins fans may want to pay attention to is between the Islanders and Rangers. The Rangers sit four points behind the Bruins in the conference, and could be breathing down their necks tomorrow morning. One way or another, the Bruins need to leave New Jersey with points tonight in order to maintain some sense of security with regards to a longer hockey season in Beantown.

Buffalo's Ryan Miller gets beat by David Krejci for the game-winning shootout goal on Feb. 9 (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

The playoff picture is still not clear for the Bruins, but it has become a little less blurry over the past week. With just eight games left in the season, the B’s square off to face the Buffalo Sabres tonight at the TD Garden.

The Bruins are coming off a 5-0 victory against Calgary last Saturday, and need to keep the scoring momentum up as they are get set to face Vezina Trophy hopeful Ryan Miller.

Over his last seven starts, Miller is 5-1-1 with a 2.42 GAA.  Buffalo currently sits in third place in the Eastern Conference with 92 points and a large part of their success is due to the way Miller has been playing.

The Bruins have been up and down over the past few weeks but remain in the push for the playoffs. They are surprisingly still hanging on to eighth place, just two points behind both Philadelphia and Montreal.

Marco Sturm celebrates after assisting a goal on Saturday. It was his first point in eight games, something that will need to change against Buffalo (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

Players to watch for Boston are David Krejci, Johnny Boychuck and Vladimir Sobotka. Krejci is well aware of what his role has to be on the team since the injury to Marc Savard. Krejci has stepped up his game noticeably since Savard’s concussion and has 3 goals and 8 assists over the past eight games. Krejci is now the team’s number one center and if the Bruins plan on making it deep into the playoffs they’re going to have to rely on him to continue the offensive push.

Boychuck has been stepping it up as of late, speaking to the talent that the Bruins have amongst their younger players down in Providence. Boychuck has 2 goals and 2 assists over the past seven games and with his late offensive push has come a notably improved defensive game, mainly aided by more ice time.

While Sobotka has been struggling offensively as of late with just 2 assists over the past 7 games and has been in and out of the lineup all year, what’s most notable from the view of NESN commentators has been his large physical play. Sobotka who stands in at just 5’11 and under 200 lbs has shown enormous amounts of physicality as of late. Sobotka is a gritty player who knows his role within the lineup and has established a permanent spot on the roster for the future.

The last time the B’s faced the Sabres was on Feb. 9, which resulted in a 3-2 Bruins shootout win.

Click below to watch highlights of that game courtesy of NESN:

The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. and the game will not be shown on NESN. Watch for it on Versus Network.

A victory in Boston tonight could make the postseason picture a lot clearer.

The B’s will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at the TD Garden. The black and gold currently sit precariously in the eighth Eastern Conference spot, just three points ahead of Atlanta. Boston helped its own cause with a resounding 4-0 win on Tuesday against the Thrashers, widening the gap.

Steve Downie of Tampa Bay clutches Zdeno Chara during a fight on February 11 at St. Pete Times Forum (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

The Lightning, once very visible in the Eastern Conference hunt, have completely fallen off the map. They have dropped eight points back on the Bruins and posted a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games. With nine games left on the season, Tampa Bay will have a lot of catching up to do.

Boston, on the other hand, continues to struggle to find an identity. The team has played average hockey as of late, but do have a little momentum coming off their Atlanta victory as well as a tight win over the New York Rangers. This game could help the B’s to push farther up the standings, as they are only one point behind Philadelphia for seventh, two points behind Montreal for sixth, and five points behind Ottawa for fifth.

As the excitement of playoff hockey looms closer, every game in late March and early April will be crucial. This season has a very similar feel to the 2007-2008 NHL campaign, where the Bruins barely snuck into eighth place ahead of Carolina.

They will likely finish up with a worse record than that season, with this year’s quality of Eastern Conference bottom feeders being offset by the complete dominance of Washington. The Capitals sit comfortably in first with 108 points, nine more than any team in the league and exactly 30 more than the B’s. Washington has already clinched its division title and patiently awaits its first round opponent, which could very well be Boston.

The Bruins have met Washington twice this season, losing 4-1 both times. The B’s have the misfortune of seeing the Caps twice more down the stretch.

Vladimir Sobotka will not be available tonight due to a neck injury. Claude Julien has announced that Sobotka’s injury is not a concussion and that he is making progress. The team recalled Trent Whitfield Thursday from Providence. He has spent time back and forth between the NHL and AHL this season.

When the Bruins last met Tampa Bay, they barraged the Lightning with five early goals, only to desperately hold on for a 5-4 win.

Shawn Thornton lands a right hook on Atlanta's Eric Boulton during the first period of Tuesday's 4-0 Bruins victory (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

Click here for full recap and a box score of the game courtesy of ESPN.com and AP.

Brandon Dubinsky of the Rangers checks Blake Wheeler into the boards during a 1-0 Bruins loss in November (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

The Boston Bruins, fresh off a shutout loss to their new favorite team to hate, the Pittsburgh Penguins, invite the New York Rangers into the TD Garden this afternoon.

The game is a virtual must-win for both teams. The Bruins are currently clinging to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, just one point ahead of the Atlanta Thrashers. The Rangers sit right behind the Thrashers, just three points back on the Bruins. The teams have met twice this year, with the Bruins losing both times.

On Thursday night, the B’s were overmatched by a vicious Penguins attack and defense, winning only in the “revenge” department. Shawn Thornton started a fight with public enemy no. 1 Matt Cooke just two minutes into the game. Cooke was booed all night by Boston fans after his blindside cheap shot knocked Marc Savard out for what appears to be the season.

It won’t get any easier for a Bruins team struggling to find their offensive identity. The Rangers will start Henrik Lundqvist in net, one of the perrenial star goaltenders of the league. Lundqvist has been shaky of late. On Thursday he gave up four goals on just 12 shots in a loss to the Blues.

Shawn Thornton tangles with Matt Cooke during Thursday's 3-0 loss to Pittsburgh (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

Here are the prospective forward lines for Boston:

Sturm-Bergeron-Recchi

Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder

Lucic-Sobotka-Satan

Paille-Begin-Thornton/Marchand

The B’s will decide whether to start Shawn Thornton or Brad Marchand on the fourth line at game time.

Marc Savard lies on a stretcher after Matt Cooke's hit in the last matchup against Pittsburgh (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

So here we are. 11 days later. It’s the game everybody’s been looking forward to and it’s finally here. The eyes of the National Hockey League will be on Boston tonight.

Fans want to see a blood bath; commentators, analysts and writers around the league want to see character and dignity out of the Bruins; and coaches, management and players of the team just want to gain some respect back.

The reality of it is that the bigger picture lies ahead; bigger than a fight. Actually winning the game is at hand and the Bruins put themselves in the situation where tonight’s two points are prime, bigger than sacrificing the game.

Yes, tensions will be high. They should be. There will probably be a fight or two – as there needs to be, but in no way can the Bruins let this game out of hand.

Throughout the league, whenever analysts from NHL Network, Versus, NESN and ESPN discuss the matter at hand, the lingering questions remains whether or not the Bruins will retaliate against Sydney Crosby tonight, creating a ‘eye for an eye’ situation. In all likelihood, that likely will not happen. Crosby is the greatest player in the game and if the Bruins do retaliate in some way they are degrading the historic team they are representing.

The Bruins shouldn’t retaliate illegally, but they need to come out hard tonight, making clean and solid body contact against the number two team in the East.

What the Bruins need to do is what they did last season. On Nov. 1, 2008, the Bruins played Dallas and beat them both on the scoreboard and on the ice. During this game the team showed ultimate unity, sticking up for one another in every way possible. That needs to happen tonight. The most memorable moment of that game was probably the biggest hit of the season, Andrew Ferrence cleanly in open ice – shoulder into chest – on Steve Ott. Plays like that need to happen constantly tonight in order to prove a point: send a message and gain some respect back.

Zdeno Chara is someone who the Bruins need to have step up tonight both physically and in the offensive zone. Chara has tried to control the tempo of the game this season by not fighting, and by not getting as many penalties because he knows he is much more vital to the team on the blue line rather than in the box. But tonight should be an exception to that and Chara should step up early in the game, drop the gloves and demonstrate that the captain of the Bruins wont roll over and let his star player go down untouched.

NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell will be at tonight’s game in order to make sure there are no retaliations. Campbell, who made the decision not to suspend Matt Cooke, will be interviewed by Mike Milbury before the game on NESN. Campbell will also be speaking to both teams’ coaching staffs and general managers, according to NESN.com

The Penguins are vulnerable right now, coming off of a loss last night to New Jersey. The Bruins are just the opposite, after getting two points in Carolina on Tuesday, the team is finally coming home after a weary seven game road trip.

When focusing toward the actual hockey at hand, there are several players to keep an eye on during the game. Blake Wheeler has 4 goals and an assist over the past eight games and is one of the few Bruins who has consistently been causing some damage, but he is a game-time decision due to an illness that is running through the locker room. Dennis Wideman and Steve Begin are also a game-time decision due to the same locker room bug.

Mark Recchi has 3 goals and 7 points in the last eight games, and David Krejci has 3 goals and 9 points in his last eight games.

Click here for a video from NESN.com as they explain what they think the Bruins will do tonight.