And now, after some of the most thrilling hockey this city has ever hosted, we go back to our regularly scheduled Boston Bruins programming.

It isn’t all that promising at the moment.

With just 25 games left in the season, the B’s sit one point out of aa playoff spot, but every team around them vying for the final wild card spots has at least a game in hand. The B’s are 1-8-1 on the road since the Christmas break and will play 10 of 14 games in March on the road. They have a minus-25 goal differential.

And, of yeah, they’ll be playing without their top two defensemen (Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm) for the foreseeable future.

One would think that’s enough for players who are used to making the playoffs – and by a healthy margin – to get a little pessimistic about their chances.

But interim coach Joe Sacco does not see it that way.

“I don’t think it’s a challenge to make sure they don’t get discouraged. We’ve played without Lindy since the middle of November and then, with Charlie right before he came back from his injury, he missed seven games at that point and we held our own,” said Sacco after Friday’s practice. “It’s certainly going to be a challenge without both of them in the lineup. But it’s just an opportunity for everyone in the lineup to really step up on the back end. Whoever is in and whatever game it is, it’s an opportunity for a defenseman to grab some more minutes and more responsibility. We’re not looking for players to change their game. We want them to continue to play the game that they have and the game they’re capable of playing. And it’s incumbent upon all of us again to make sure we’re all doing our job. We all have to do better. Not just the defensemen but the forwards have to realize ‘OK, we have to be a little more disciplined in certain areas.’”

The current six pack of defensemen has Nikita Zadorov paired with Andrew Peeke, Michael Callahan with Brandon Carlo and Mason Lohrei with Parker Wotherspoon. Jordan Oesterle was the seventh D-man at Friday’s practice.

The B’s get back in action Saturday night at the Garden against the Anaheim Ducks. There was a time in the not too distant past that a visit from Anaheim was an automatic two point, but there are no easy outs for this Bruins team. While you can’t exactly say the Ducks have turned a corner, they are an NHL .500 team at 24-24-6. If the B’s don’t have the right frame of mind, an L is not out of the question.

One of Sacco’s purposes in this stretch run is to keep his team focused on the task in front of it, which may not be an easy thing to do with the March 7 trade deadline looming.

“Of course, we look at where we stand and where everyone else is as well. But that can be a little bit daunting to look a the big picture and how many games we have left and how many points we need,” said Sacco, who had no update no either McAvoy or Lindholm. “We’re going to try to break it down into smaller increments with our group and something for our guys to have in front of them. It gives them an opportunity to see tings in a smaller scale as opposed to a bigger picture.”…

While there’s no telling when McAvoy will be back for the B’s, Jeremy Swayman said his appearance in the Team USA locker room to read off the starting lineup on Thursday was heartening after he suffered an infection stemming from what the B’s team doctor called a “significant” shoulder injury.

“He was a leader on that team and is a leader in here and he’s earned that. It means a lot to all of us,” said Swayman. “The fact that he was going through all that adversity and still managed to come and fight all that stuff, it just shows how much he cares and he wanted to be out there as much as all of us. A ton of credit goes to him for battling through and coming in and helping is team. Can’t wait to have him back.”

Swayman said there was concern for McAvoy’s overall health. Bruins management was unhappy with the care that he got in the tournament, which was administered by the Minnesota Wild medical staff.

“You don’t want anyone to go down and to have a serious health scare like that is even more precautionary. We wanted him to be healthy and safe first and foremost and get him back on the ice as soon as possible,” said Swayman. “We’re super happy that the Boston medical staff took care of him and I got to see him (Thursday) night and talked to him and he seems like he’s on the up and up. We’re excited to have him back.”….

Sacco said Swayman, who didn’t see any game action in the 4 Nations Faceoff, will be in net against the Ducks. Brad Marchand, who was excused from practice on Friday after Canada’s win on Thursday, is also expected to play against Anaheim.