Bruins-Jets Preview

The Boston Bruins are trying to forget their latest effort. The Winnipeg Jets hope a couple of road victories has them poised for improvement at home.

Coach Claude Julien is expected to shuffle the lines as the Bruins open this season-high six-game road trip against the Jets on Thursday night.

Boston (28-19-6) was hammered 9-2 at home by Los Angeles on Tuesday, surrendering 57 shots for the first time since a meeting with Detroit on March 18, 1965.

"What's ahead of us is more important than what is behind us," Julien told the team's official website. "I'm not going to get into (Tuesday) night, but I'm just going to say we haven't played like that all year, so it's not something we should dwell on more than think about what we have ahead of us.

"We're looking at Winnipeg and we understand and realize the importance of this road trip."

The Bruins' 16-5-3 road record ranks only behind Washington's 19-5-2 and includes four straight victories.

Boston, though, has won only once in their last eight away matchups with the Jets, dating back to 2010 when they were the Atlanta Thrashers. The Bruins' three-game skid in Winnipeg includes one goal in each contest, and they fell 6-2 at home in the season opener for both clubs Oct. 8.

The Jets (24-26-3) are last in the Central Division and among the worst home teams in the West at 13-12-1. They've surrendered an average of 3.67 goals while losing seven of nine.

Winnipeg, however, showed some promise against a couple teams in playoff position, beating St. Louis 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday after topping Colorado 4-2 on Saturday.

"The on-ice product the last two games is a function of preparation," coach Paul Maurice told the team's official website. "Every team has to find its soul, and how it gets itself ready. We've been right there the last two games, as good as we've been all year, where you're wired into the game and ready to go. That's a big deal.

"We're back skating, we're competing on pucks. We're battling and when it all goes bad, we're getting a block or a save."

The Jets are getting Drew Stafford back from a one-game suspension for hitting the Avalanche's Nick Holden in the face with his stick. He had two goals and one assist in that game to match his point total from the eight prior.

Stafford has four points in his last three meetings with the Bruins, including two in the season opener.

His 16 goals are tied for the team lead with Bryan Little, who ended an eight-game drought Tuesday. The center has just one assist in the past eight games with Boston.

Brad Marchand leads the Bruins with 25 goals, three shy of his career high set in 2011-12. He's scored 10 over the past 10 games, netting half of them during a four-game streak.

Marchand didn't score in a 2-1 loss at Winnipeg on Dec. 19, 2014, after getting one in each of the previous three visits.

Tuukka Rask should be back in net after getting pulled midway through the second period Tuesday. He's lost five of his last six road matchups with the Jets franchise but owns a 2.03 goals-against average while dropping two of the past three.