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BOSTON -- For the past two days, the Boston Bruins insisted their late-season funk was in the rearview mirror. There would be no more blown leads in the third period and no more lackluster starts. The skilled and physical Bruins would return.

Well, the Bruins kept their promises as they overcame an early Toronto Maple Leafs power-play goal and scored the next four goals, dominating the Leafs 4-1 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

David Krejci had a goal and two assists, Wade Redden had a goal and an assist and Nathan Horton and Johnny Boychuk both lit the lamp for the Bruins. Tuukka Rask looked solid between the pipes, making 19 saves, with James van Riemsdyk’s power-play goal in the opening period the only shot that beat him.

For the Leafs, James Reimer was under siege all night as the Bruins poured 40 shots on him.

Lucic-Krejci-Horton line clicks again: One of the big question marks heading into this series was whether Milan Lucic, Krejci and Horton could find their magic again. If Game 1 is any indication, the band is back together and the magic is there. In addition to Krejci’s three-point performance and Horton lighting the lamp, Lucic had two helpers and continued to look more like the Lucic who used a combination of grit, size and skating to earn two straight seasons of 20-plus goals. The chemistry was back as Horton and Lucic got to open spaces to benefit from Krejci’s playmaking skills, and Krejci looked a lot like the player who was a candidate for the 2011 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Bruins defense provides offensive boost: Prior to Game 1, coach Claude Julien lauded Redden for his recent play and puck-moving skills. Redden continued to impress with his goal and an assist, but the Bruins' entire defense did a great job of moving the puck and creating offense in Game 1. In addition to Boychuk's goal, Bruins defensemen helped in peppering Reimer and controlling neutral zone play.

Power play looks better: While the Bruins’ power play (1-for-5) can certainly still be better, it did convert once and moved the puck a lot better. The passes were crisp, and there was less hesitation. If that continues, the scoring production will increase.

Suspension coming for Ference? Andrew Ference could very well be sitting out a game or more after elbowing Leafs forward Mikhail Grabovski in the head in the first period. No penalty was called, but the replay clearly shows an elbow to the head.

Bruins have two goals called back: Things could have been even worse for the Leafs if not for two Bruins goals being called back. The referees and replay officials got it right in calling back a Tyler Seguin shot that clearly rang off the post 1:10 into the second period. But Patrice Bergeron’s no-goal was a bit questionable as the referees claimed the whistle was blown before Bergeron pushed it into the net. But even if the refs were wrong, the rule states if they intended to blow it and didn’t do it in time, then it’s still not a goal.

Bad blood boils at end: In addition to Ference’s questionable hit to the head of Grabovski, there was plenty of hard hitting throughout the game. As time wound down in the third period and it was clear the Bruins would win, the Leafs decided to let the Bruins know they were still there, taking plenty of extra hits after the whistle and then stirring things up at the final buzzer. The result was a Chris Kelly-Leo Komarov fight. It should be a physical Game 2.

Hamilton and Peverley sit: Not surprisingly, Julien kept Dougie Hamilton in the press box as a healthy scratch. The defenseman struggled in his last few games of the regular season, and Julien seems to have opted to take the learning-from-up-top route he took with Seguin as a rookie to start the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. While Rich Peverley might have had an off season, one would think Julien would prefer playoff and Cup experience in the lineup instead of an inexperienced Kaspars Daugavins. But it was Daugavins playing with Kelly and Jaromir Jagr for Game 1.

Here’s what the rest of the lineup looked like:

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Daugavins-Kelly-Jagr
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defensemen
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Ference-Boychuk
Redden-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Rask
Anton Khudobin

The Boston Bruins concluded their four-game road trip with a frustrating 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Air Canada Centre. The Bruins posted a 1-3 record on the road and return home to host the Maple Leafs on Monday night.

With the win, the Maple Leafs snapped a personal eight-game losing skid against the Bruins. Toronto needed only 13 shots and received goals from Nazem Kadri, Mikhail Grabovski and Frazer McLaren en route to victory. The Bruins created 33 shots, while defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference scored the goals for Boston.

After playing well with a 27-save performance to help Boston to a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at Ottawa, Bruins goalie Anton Khudobin made his second consecutive start on Saturday. It's the first time in his Bruins career he's played back-to-back games. He didn't play the entire game, however, as Bruins coach Claude Julien decided to pull Khudobin after Toronto took a 3-0 lead at 1:34 of the third period. Tuukka Rask finished the game and made only two saves.

Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer made 31 saves.

Toronto gained a 1-0 lead at 4:58 of the first period. Kadri, who's had the scoring touch of late, received a nifty saucer pass by teammate Clarke MacArthur and beat Khudobin to the short side. With the goal, Kadri has nine points in his past four games.

The Maple Leafs gained a 2-0 lead when Mikhail Grabovski took a shot through a screen and beat Khudobin at 2:52 of the second period after a defensive breakdown by Boston.

The Maple Leafs went up 3-0 1:34 in the third period when McLaren snuck the puck past Khudobin, who was pulled in favor of Rask.

Only 56 seconds later, Seidenberg finally scored when his snap shot from the right point found its way through traffic and beat a screened Reimer to cut Boston's deficit to 3-1. It was Seidenberg's second goal in as many games and it served as a spark for the Bruins.

With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Julien pulled Rask for the extra attacker and it worked. The Bruins had sustained pressure when Ference's shot from the point found the back of the net to cut Boston's deficit to one goal, but it wasn't enough.

LINEUP: Defenseman Matt Bartkowski, who was recalled Friday from Providence, made his season debut for the Bruins against the Maple Leafs. His presence was needed since blueliner Johnny Boychuk is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Bartkowski was paired with Dennis Seidenberg. Forward Ryan Spooner remained in the lineup, as fellow forward Jordan Caron was a healthy scratch. Speaking of healthy scratches, forward Rich Peverley was back in the lineup after watching from press level last game against the Ottawa Senators. He was back on the wing, with Spooner in the middle and Jay Pandolfo on the other side. Late in the third period, Julien went with Peverley, Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille as a line.

DROP 'EM: In a heavyweight bout, the Bruins' Shawn Thornton and the Maple Leafs' Colton Orr dropped the gloves on the ensuing faceoff after Toronto took a 1-0 lead at 5:00 of the first period. The two squared off at center ice and exchanged punches in a spirited bout. It was the sixth fighting major of the season for Thornton, and the 10th for Orr.

SAVE OF THE GAME: In the waning seconds of the first period, Boston had an opportunity to tie the game in the midst of a scramble in front of Reimer, but the goaltender made a left pad save on Horton to preserve the one-goal lead.

UP NEXT: Now that the Bruins' four-game road trip is complete, Boston will host the Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. on Monday at TD Garden.

BOSTON -- The Toronto Maple Leafs arrive in Boston with a 11-4-0 record in their past 15 games, including a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Senators Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The Bruins have lost their past two games, and even coach Claude Julien admitted after the team’s morning skate Thursday that there are many areas Boston needs to clean up as it prepares to host the Maple Leafs at 7:05 tonight at TD Garden.

Earlier this season, the Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 1-0 in Toronto, but it was soon after that game that the Leafs began their solid run.

“They’ve done a great job with that team,” Julien said. “The coaching staff, and you’ve got to give credit to a lot of people there because they are playing really well defensively and they’ve tightened up their game. Offensively, they’re still a skilled team, but they’re also doing the grunt work. They come at you hard.

“I’m one of those guys that believes they’re a legit contender -- no doubt about it. They play like one, and I’ve already told our guys, 'If you guys aren’t ready for a tough game tonight, then you’re making a big mistake.' "

Boston is 7-0-1 in its past eight games against the Maple Leafs, including wins in the past seven games against the Northeast Division opponent. This season, however, Toronto is playing a lot better than it did in 2011-2012.

“They have a whole new mentality over there,” Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. “It’s a different group and it seems they have a lot of confidence right now.”

Anton Khudobin was the first goaltender off the ice this morning, meaning he probably will make the start against Toronto.

“It will be exciting and interesting because I’ve never played against Toronto,” Khudobin said. “If I’m playing, it’ll be fun.”

Boston’s past two losses have been devastating. The Bruins had a 3-2 lead in the third period at home against the Montreal Canadiens Sunday but lost 4-3. On Tuesday, Boston had a 3-0 lead before losing to the Washington Capitals 4-3 at Verizon Center.

“A win tonight would be nice,” Marchand said. “We know we have a lot of work to do ahead of us here and we’re obviously very upset with what happened, giving up leads in the third period both games. That’s not our team and we need to come out hard tonight, play our game, and prove we’re taking the right step forward.”

The Boston Bruins' goal during this lockout-shortened, 48-game season is to avoid consecutive losses, especially when they're playing a string of games like this week's stretch of four games in six nights.

The Bruins were able to avoid back-to-back losses with a 1-0 win over their Northeast Division rival the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night at Air Canada Centre. Boston had lost to the Buffalo Sabres 7-4 on Thursday night at TD Garden.

With the victory, Boston finishes the week with a 3-1-0 record.

Boston's Chris Bourque scored the lone goal of the game at 8:54 of the first period. He crashed the net with reckless abandon and scored his first goal as a Bruin. His goal celebration was similar to the one his father, Ray, used to employ during his Hall of Fame career.

Bourque was a healthy scratch Thursday against the Sabres. Linemates Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly assisted on the goal.

"I'm just happy to contribute," Bourque told NESN's Naoko Funayama during the first-period intermission. "Pevs and Kelly made a hell of a play, and I just put it in the net."

After ungodly defensive breakdowns during the Sabres game, Boston played soundly in all three zones against the Maple Leafs. Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask earned his first shutout of the season with 21 saves.

The Bruins' penalty kill has been solid all season and it needed to be once again in the third period on Saturday. With Boston holding a 1-0 lead, defenseman Dennis Seidenberg was called for interference at 11:24. The Bruins killed off that penalty, but Tyler Seguin was called for slashing at 17:35 with just more than two minutes to play in regulation. Toronto pulled its goalie for a two-man advantage, but the Bruins stifled the Maple Leafs' attack and held on for the victory.

Boston continued its dominance over Toronto. After sweeping the six-game series in 2011-2012, the Bruins are now 7-0-0 in their past seven meetings against the Maple Leafs. Also, Boston is 24-5-5 in the past 34 games against Toronto. At Air Canada Centre, the Bruins are 13-2-3 in the past 18 games.

INJURED: Bruins forward Brad Marchand fell hard into the end boards behind the Toronto net late in the second period and was clearly shaken up on the play. He skated to the bench on his own and was able to finish the period. When the third period began, however, Marchand was not on the bench and did not return for the remainder of the game. It appeared to be a left shoulder injury. Gregory Campbell played the final 20 minutes of regulation in Marchand's spot alongside Patrice Bergeron and Seguin.

WAVED OFF: With the Bruins holding a 1-0 lead with 8:28 remaining in the first period, it appeared as though the Maple Leafs had tied the game when defenseman Cody Franson rifled in a shot, but it was disallowed as the referee called goaltender interference. The Bruins were also denied a possible tally when Seguin was called for incidental contact with Toronto goaltender James Reimer at 6:30 of the second period.

HOMETOWN BOYS: A pair of Bruins rookies played in front of their hometown fans as Dougie Hamilton and Jamie Tardif made their Air Canada Centre debuts Saturday night. Their respective paths are quite different. Hamilton, 19, was Boston's top draft choice (ninth overall) in the 2011 draft. Tardif, 28, has spent the majority of his eight-year pro career in the AHL. He's spent the past two seasons with the P-Bruins, and he was recalled from Providence late Thursday night to make his NHL debut against the Leafs. Given his long road to the NHL, his Bruins teammates wanted Tardif to lead the team out prior to the game.

MERLOT-LESS: Without the presence of Thornton (concussion) and Daniel Paille (upper body) in the lineup, Tardif and Lane MacDermid served as the wingers for centerman Gregory Campbell.

TEAM TOUGHNESS: With Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton back in Boston resting from a concussion he suffered in a fight with the Buffalo Sabres' John Scott last Thursday at TD Garden, MacDermid was more than willing to drop the gloves for Boston Saturday night. At 2:42 of the first period, the rookie went toe to toe with Mark Fraser in an even bout. The two went at it again at 15:21 of the second period, only this time MacDermid got the best of Fraser.

UP NEXT: After four games in six nights, the Bruins finally get a decent break. The team will have Super Bowl Sunday off before being back on the practice ice Monday and Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday's game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre in Montreal.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- The Air Canada Centre should be exhilarating Saturday night when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Boston Bruins in a Northeast Division matchup.

Of course, a lot of attention will be on Bruins rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who will be playing in front of his hometown team. In fact, all three players involved in the now-infamous 2009 trade between the Bruins and Maple Leafs will be on display with Hamilton, Bruins forward Tyler Seguin and Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel.

The Maple Leafs acquired Kessel from Boston on Sept. 18, 2009, in exchange for Toronto's first- and second-round picks in the 2010 NHL draft, which turned into Seguin and Jared Knight, respectively. Not only that, the Bruins also received the Leafs' first-round pick in 2011, which ended up being Hamilton.

On Saturday, Hamilton will be on the ice along with Seguin and Kessel at Air Canada Centre.

"It's exciting," Hamilton said. "I grew up watching games in that rink and dreamt of playing there in the NHL. I guess I always dreamt of playing for the Leafs, but as I've gotten older, it will be cooler to be on the other side."

To say the Bruins have dominated the Maple Leafs in recent history would be a huge understatement.

Boston swept the Leafs during the 2011-12 season and outscored them 36-10 in six games. The Bruins also have a 23-5-5 record in their past 33 games against the Maple Leafs. Boston is 12-2-3 in its past 17 games at Toronto.

This season, Toronto coach Randy Carlyle and the Maple Leafs are 4-3-0 for eight points. They're playing better hockey.

"With Randy there, they're certainly a team that's competing very hard and he's going to get the most out of his players -- he always has," said Bruins coach Claude Julien.

The Leafs already have wins over Montreal, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Washington. The Bruins have a chance to end a tough stretch of four games in six nights on a positive note with a win in Toronto on Saturday night.

"Every game for us has got to be viewed as almost a must-win and tough games," Julien said. "You can't take anybody for granted. [Thursday's loss] was a perfect example, we didn't take [Buffalo] for granted, it just means anybody can win on any given night.

"So we have to make sure we go in there with the right intentions, and doing that, and then coming out with a win gives us a 3-1 record this week with four games in six days. That would be a pretty good accomplishment. If not, we finish .500, which for us is not good enough."

The Maple Leafs do present a challenge for Boston. This season could be different, and the Bruins understand that.

"They're playing with a lot of confidence and they're beating some really good teams," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. "We've got to be ready for them. They're skating well and playing with a lot of energy. For sure, it's going to be a tough game."

Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri leads the team in scoring with three goals and four assists for seven points. Kessel has four assists with a minus-2 rating.

"They've been playing well," said Bruins forward Gregory Campbell. "They've bought into their system and their coach has them playing really well. Good teams never want to lose two games in a row, so it's important for us in another divisional game, a game that's attainable if we work hard. It would make it a pretty good week for us with a pretty tough schedule, a tough week, but it's not going to be easy. I think we're up for the challenge."

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- For the first time since the 2003-2004 season while with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins defenseman Tomas Kaberle is returning to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Boston acquired the veteran defenseman from Toronto in February, and one of the reasons he waived his no-trade clause was for an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup.

He said he’s looking forward to that chance with the Bruins:

The Boston Bruins made a flurry of moves on Friday, the biggest acquiring veteran defenseman Tomas Kaberle from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Bruins will send minor league forward Joe Colborne, a first-round pick in 2011 and another conditional second-round draft pick to Toronto.

The Bruins needed to clear cap space to absorb the remainder of Kaberle's $4.25 million salary this season, so they turned around and traded forward Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart to the Atlanta Thrashers for center Rich Peverley and defenseman Boris Valabik.

Kaberle, 32, has spent his entire career in Toronto and has made four All-Star teams. This season Kaberle has three goals and 35 assists and is a minus-2 in 58 games. He will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Click HERE for more. We'll have more updates throughout the day.

BOSTON -- Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke told 98.5 The Sports Hub on Tuesday that he was currently in talks with Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli over a possible trade -- dispelling any rumors that the embattled Leafs general manager wouldn’t deal with Chiarelli after the Phil Kessel trade in September 2009 that netted Boston Tyler Seguin (via Toronto’s first-round pick in 2010), Jared Knight (Toronto’s second-round pick in 2010) and the Leafs’ first-round pick in 2011.

“There is no barrier to that,” Burke said about dealing with the Bruins. “There are no hard feelings, there’s no sense of, ‘Oh, we have to even the score somehow.’ If we can make a deal with the Bruins that makes sense for both teams, we’re going to do it.”

Bruins president Cam Neely went on the station later Tuesday and acknowledged that the Bruins were “close” to completing a trade but he would not give specifics.

Burke wouldn’t get into specifics either or comment on Tomas Kaberle, who has been linked to the Bruins in trade rumors and whom the Bruins almost acquired in a 2009 draft-day trade. According to sportsnet.ca, Kaberle has told the Leafs that he'd waive his no-trade clause only to go to Boston.

Burke did say, however, that the Toronto first-round pick now owned by Boston wasn’t in play on any trade discussions with the Bruins, and earlier in the day Burke stated that he would like roster players in any future deals.

“We put the third-round pick in play last night,” Burke said. “As soon as we had it, we put it in play to try to get a forward back. We’re not throwing in the towel here, and we’re not done yet, either.”

Burke has 10 draft picks stored away for June but he reiterated he’s not looking to add more. Instead, he said he wants roster players that can help his team now and next season.

“We’re not going with 10 if I have my way,” the Leafs GM said. “We’re going to try and do something with some of those picks. Most draft picks, you don’t see the player for three years, and if we can do something shorter term, we’re going to do it.”

So what does that mean for the Bruins, and possibly acquiring Kaberle? It could mean that Chiarelli will have to dangle a young roster player and/or veteran as trade bait. But that isn’t the thing Chiarelli must keep in mind as he proceeds toward the Feb. 28 trade deadline. As pointed out here last night, the time may be now for Chiarelli and other general managers to make a move, because the phone lines are buzzing after what Burke did over the past week -- sending defenseman Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim Feb. 9 for Joffrey Lupul, prospect Jake Gardiner and a conditional 2013 pick and then forward Kris Versteeg to the Flyers for 2011 first- and third-round picks.

“I know from talking to a couple of other GMs that our trade set off a big surge of phone activity last night,” Burke said. “There’s only so many quality players available at the deadline, and I know there was a frantic response to this trade, but we’ve been busy on the phones now for a while.”

Kaberle was unavailable to the media following his team’s morning skate at TD Garden on Tuesday, but Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek said the puck-moving blueliner is taking the trade rumors in stride.

“He’s used to it, that’s for sure,” Komisarek said of his Czech teammate. “It’s hard for sure but it’s part of the game and we’re all dealing with it.”

Komisarek was asked if he thought Kaberle could help a team like the Bruins.

"I’ll put it this way, he is probably one of the best I’ve played with and will help any team if he gets traded away or signs somewhere in the offseason,” Komisarek said of the impending unrestricted free agent. “He’s so smart out there and his skill level is through the roof. It’s a pleasure to play with him and watch him every day on the ice.”

BOSTON -- Bruins forward Daniel Paille arrived at the rink earlier than usually Tuesday morning in preparation for his return to the lineup, following his four-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head on Feb. 3.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had four games in a week and a half, so it definitely felt a little bit longer than it was,” Paille said. “I’m glad to be back.”

Paille will be back when the Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at TD Garden. Prior to his league-mandated hiatus, Paille had 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points in 25 games for Boston this season.

He was suspended after he caught Dallas Stars forward Raymond Sawada with a blindside hit, while backchecking. Paille, who is skating on the line with Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell, said after Tuesday’s morning skate that he will not change his game because of his recent situation.

“Obviously I’m going to think about certain things, but I’m going to try to stay physical, especially playing with the line I am now,” he said. “It’s how I have to play. I just have to be aware of certain plays and try not to extend the arm out.”

Bruins coach Claude Julien expects Paille to play his game and hopes he’s not timid on the ice.

“You hope he’s not,” Julien said. “You hope he’s aware of what he can do, and the one thing you want to make sure he does, and that’s part of our job, is you’ve got to go out and play with confidence. You can’t hold back and you have to be aware of what you can and can’t do.

“I want him to continue to be aggressive. I want him to continue to skate and forecheck and be on top of guys. I want that part of his game to be there because those are the qualities he brings to our hockey club, so that can’t disappear.”

Due to the suspension, Paille forfeited $23,118. He’s received encouragement and support from his teammates, too.

“I’ve had great support from a lot of people,” he said. “Guys in the room told me to keep my head up. It’s been an easy process for me. Obviously it was tough to sit out for a week, but I’m glad to be coming back today and playing tonight.”

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins brought Nathan Horton here to help spark the offensive.

He’s done that.

The Bruins didn’t bring him here to drop the gloves.

He’s done that.

Horton dropped the gloves with Toronto’s Dion Phaneuf at 10:58 of the second period of the Bruins' 2-0 win Thursday. Right off a face-off, the two went at it as Horton dragged his adversary to the ice. While Phaneuf was lying on his back, he threw a punch and connected. Horton didn't like that too much and returned fire, resulting in a 10-minute misconduct. Horton’s quickly proving he can handle every role in Boston.

“It’s part of the game,” Horton said. “It just kind of happened. Honestly, it was just part of the game.

“I want to do anything to help give my teammates a boost. Obviously we were winning, but just pick the right spots I guess and it kind of happens.”

Phaneuf didn’t think much of their fight, either.

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “We were talking there and it was kind of a mutual thing. He gave me a shot earlier in the game, and I gave him one back. I’ve battled against him for a long time. I’ve known him for a long time. He plays hard, and like I said, it’s part of the game.”

BOSTON -- The 17,565 fans in attendance for the Boston Bruins' game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at the Garden made sure Bruins rookie Tyler Seguin knew how they felt about him.

Immediately following Seguin’s second goal of the season, his first on home ice, fans began to chant: “Thank you, Kessel! Thank you, Kessel! Thank you, Kessel!”

Of course, one of the reasons Seguin is wearing a Bruins sweater is because Boston acquired Toronto’s first-round pick in the 2010 draft in exchange for Phil Kessel prior to the 2009-10 season. That selection resulted in the No. 2 overall pick, and the Bruins grabbed Seguin.

After Boston’s 2-0 victory over the Leafs, Bruins coach Claude Julien claims he didn’t hear the chant because he was focusing on the game.

“Somebody told me that was the chant, and that’s what our fans are all about,” Julien said. “They are great fans. They support the people who are here and taunt the people who were here and are gone. To me, those are perfect fans.”

Kessel, who spent three seasons in Boston, claims he wasn't bothered by it.

"I could care less to tell you the truth," he said. "It doesn't matter to me one bit."

BOSTON -- The Bruins have four games remaining before they have to decide whether to retain the services of rookie forward Tyler Seguin or send the 18-year-old back to juniors.

In all likelihood, the club’s top pick (No. 2 overall) from the 2010 draft will not change ZIP codes and will remain in Boston. Entering Thursday’s game against his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, Seguin has 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points in 6 games, including a minus-2.

“I see him improving every game,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “That’s a good sign. I can’t stand here and tell you he’s staying because it’s not my final decision to make, it’s upper management’s, and that’s why I’ve stayed away from answering that question because it’s up to them to divulge that. From a coach’s point of view, he’s improved every game. He’s an individual who catches on very quickly to what’s going on.”

Julien said he’s happy with the rookie’s progression.

"We’ll never question his skill, his speed and his ability,” said the coach. “Right now, he’s learning the game at this level -- the total package.”

A native of Brampton, Ontario, Seguin’s favorite team growing up was Toronto and he admitted it would be a little strange playing against them.

“It should be a lot of fun,” Seguin said. “It might be a little weird at first, seeing a Leaf jersey on the opposing team.

“Growing up all I did was want Toronto to win a Cup. Everyone wanted that back then. Everybody had favorite teams, [Toronto] was just my local team. Now I’m going against them.”

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding Thursday’s game because Seguin’s playing against the Maple Leafs. He’s sure to have some butterflies going in, but Julien expects the rookie to remain calm and play his game.

“I’m not going to stand here and deny the fact that this is a pretty special game for Tyler, and he’s excited about playing it,” Julien said. “At the same time, we look at Tyler as a guy we drafted in the first round, and we look at him as a highly skilled player. He’s a player we see as having a great future in this organization. For us, it’s about utilizing him the best way we can and helping him grow in that role, and putting him in the best position possible to succeed.

“His emotions are going to be running high tonight, no doubt about that. To a certain extent, if you see that becoming an issue, you’ve got to address it. He’s a pretty level-headed individual that’s been able to handle those situations pretty well so far, and I don’t see it being an issue tonight.”

BOSTON -- There’s definitely a buzz around TD Garden this morning as the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs prepare for their first meeting of the season.

Tim Thomas will start in goal for the Bruins. He has a 4-0-0 record with a 0.75 goals-against average and a .978 save percentage this season. The lines remain the same for Boston. Here are the combinations:

Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Wheeler-Bergeron-Caron
Recchi-Seguin-Ryder
Marchand-Campbell-Thornton

Bruins coach Claude Julien has mixed and matched his defensive pairings this season, and now with Johnny Boychuk out of the lineup with a fractured left forearm, that trend is likely to continue on the Boston blue line.

Here are the pairings you’ll probably see the most:

Ference-Chara
Seidenberg-Hunwick
Stuart-McQuaid

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Boston Bruins forward David Krejci may have trouble chewing his food right now, but he’s ready to take a huge bite out of the Toronto Maple Leafs and former teammate Phil Kessel on Thursday night at TD Garden.

Krejci had one wisdom tooth removed, along with a couple of other teeth, on Monday and needed to miss practice. He was back on the ice Tuesday and Wednesday at Ristuccia Arena and will be ready for the 5-2-1 Maple Leafs.

He said it’s been a little difficult to eat, but he’s fine. Even skating hasn’t been an issue with the wind getting into his mouth.

“It doesn’t feel that bad, actually,” he said. “I feel pretty good.”

As far as facing his former teammate again, Krejci is focusing on his own game.

“[Kessel’s] having a pretty good start,” Krejci said. “Hopefully we’ll make it hard on him, and make him want to quit and hope he has a bad game, so we can focus on our own game.”

Kessel has 7 goals and 2 assists for 9 points in 8 games for the Maple Leafs this season.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Good morning from Ristuccia Arena, where the Boston Bruins are practicing in preparation for their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at TD Garden.

Here are the sweater combinations:

White: Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Gold: Caron-Bergeron-Wheeler
Gray: Recchi-Seguin-Ryder/Paille
Red: Marchand-Campbell-Thornton/McGrattan

Stuart-Seidenberg
Chara-Ference
Hunwick-McQuaid

Thomas
Rask