Bruins Gameday: Jets at Bruins, 7 p.m. -- Krejci, McQuaid remain sidelined; Spooner, Nash, Marchand questionable

The Boston Bruins (17-10-5, 39 points) host the Winnipeg Jets (20-10-5, 45 points) Thursday night at TD Garden. Here's the breakdown:



News: The Bruins could be without the services of forwards Brad Marchand, Riley Nash and Ryan Spooner tonight. The three arrived for the morning skate but were all sent home.

"All three are ill, so we'll see how they do later today," said Bruce Cassidy. "There's a bit of a food bug, or something, so we sent them all home."

Because there's uncertainty for tonight's game, Cassidy could decide to go with seven defensemen again. He's done it twice this season and it led to victories over the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"I can't sit here and say they're absolutely in, or absolutely out, so we may have to manipulate the lineup and it may involve a recall. It's all stuff we're going to work through this afternoon," explained Cassidy.

Our friend, Mark Divver, from the Providence Journal reported that P-Bruins forward Colby Cave exited the ice 15 minutes into practice this morning and could be the player called up if needed. If that's the case, it would Cave's NHL debut if he plays.

Update: Cave just arrived at TD Garden. He walked into the locker room at 1:27 p.m.

David Krejci, who has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, will not be in the lineup tonight against the Jets. He will be re-evaluated on Friday and remains a possibility for Saturday's game against the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden.

Adam McQuaid, who has missed 26 games after breaking his right fibula, has been practicing with the team and is on the verge of returning to the lineup. He will not play tonight, but could be cleared for Saturday, according to Cassidy.

"We're balancing practice time and prep with the whole group vs. how the lineup's going again," explained Cassidy. "The extra days can help Adam."

What have you done lately: The Bruins are in the midst of an eight-game stretch in 10 days and they’re 5-1-1 as the host the Jets tonight. Boston has won two straight with a 3-0 win over the Sabres and a 7-2 victory against the Blue Jackets. Overall, the Bruins are 11-3-1 in their last 15 games and 4-1-1 in their last six on home ice. The Jets defeated the Nashville Predators 6-4 on Tuesday. That victory ended a six-game winless streak on the road. Winnipeg is 5-4-4 against Eastern Conference teams this season.

Face-to-face: This will be the 60^th meeting between the two teams, which includes the Atlanta Thrashers. The Bruins own a 35-17-2-5 record and a 188-166 scoring edge.

Masked men: Tuukka Rask is 6-0-1 in his last seven starts. He has a 1.59 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage in his last nine games. He’s 12-6-0, including two shutouts, a 1.99 GAA and a .930 SP in 18 career games against the Jets. Connor Hellebuyck is 18-4-4 with two shutouts, a 2.50 GAA and a .918 SP in 28 games this season for the Jets. He’s 0-2-0 with a 4.55 and a .829 in two games against the Bruins.

Special teams: The Bruins have scored eight power-play goals (8-for-30) in the last eight games. While Cassidy is pleased with the success on the man-advantage, he would like to see a more consistent effort in this category. Overall, Boston is ranked 10th in the league on the PP, going 22-for-107 (20.6 percent). A big part of the Jets' success this season is due to their third-ranked power play. They're 32-for-127 (25.2 percent). Forward Patrik Laine leads the league with 10 power-play goals. On the penalty kill, Boston is ranked eighth, allowing only 17 goals on 101 shorthanded situations. Winnipeg is 20th and has allowed 26 power-play goals in 127 chances.