There are 13 games to go for the Bruins in this end-of-an-era season and, looking at the standings, the hopes of a playoff spot are getting dimmer by the day.

Going into Tuesday’s games, the B’s were three points behind the second wild card holder, the New York Rangers. And that’s the good news, at least for the those dwindling few people who are holding out hope for the postseason. The bad news for those folks is that the Rangers had a game in hand, which they were playing on Tuesday against Calgary, and the three teams in between the B’s and the Rangers all had at least two games in hand.

Now, most rational fans see what management did at the trade deadline, dealing away five regulars, including their captain Brad Marchand, and realize the brass has given up on this season. The highest draft choice possible is what the realists are hoping for, which would mean losing games down the stretch. And really, if you can barely keep up with the Buffalo Sabres, it’s tough to kid anyone at this point that they’re a worthy playoff team.

But players and coaches don’t think like that. They can’t think like that. Accepting losing is the fastest way to take the culture that has been built over the last two decades and flush it down the hopper.

As the B’s are about to embark on a daunting five-game western swing that starts in Vegas on Thursday and ends in Detroit on March 29, interim coach Joe Sacco isn’t about to let his players think there’s nothing for them to play for. That includes but isn’t limited to the playoff chase.

“I think there is (something to play for),” said Sacco. “We came in this morning and … the games in hand? Sure you can look at that. But you can also just look at three points right now. That’s what’s separating us from the last wild card spot right now as we stand here today. To me, that should be one of our focuses and it is one of our focuses as a group, to make sure we understand that we’re still in the thick of things here and nothing changes for us as far as our mindset in how we prepare and how we get ready for games. It really shouldn’t be that hard to keep them focused. I think that there’s still something to play for here. We talked about the importance of the standard that we try to play up to here. That’s something that we’re going to continue to harp on as a coaching staff. I woke up this morning and I saw there’s a couple of teams that seem to be clawing back up, but there are a couple of teams that are moving back down. It’s been like that for a while. So you string together a couple of wins, you’re right back in it. You never know.”

So, the Bruins play on. And while the roster is depleted of bona fide scoring threats beyond David Pastnak’s first line, there was plenty of emotion shown in the 3-2 overtime loss, from Pastrnak screaming at the officials to Joonas Korpisalo punting the puck after a whistle. It wasn’t enough to get them a win over the last place Sabres, though.

Maybe some new blood can deliver a spark. With the B’s needing some extra players for the long road trip, forward Fabian Lysell and defenseman Michael Callahan were brought up for the trip.

Lysell is an intriguing call-up. The 2021 first-round pick (21st overall) has gotten exactly one game in the NHL back on Dec. 28 and showed some decent jump. He didn’t register a point, but it was his speed that created the play that led to the game’s first goal, and the B’s eventually beat the Blue Jackets 4-0 on that night, back when hopes were still reasonably high for the season.

Then he got sent back to Providence and hasn’t been seen here until now. After a four-game skid stretch without any points, he’s got 2-3-5 in his last six games and was playing with Riley Tufte and Fraser Minten, who is now one of the B’s top prospects since being obtained by Toronto in the Brandon Carlo trade.

“The reports from Providence have all been positive as far as his game down there, not just offensively but his 200-foot game, his play away from the puck, his ability to stay on pucks, one of the things we need to see from some of the young players,” said Sacco of Lysell. “I think it’s good that he’s getting another opportunity. At some point we’ll see him in the lineup on this upcoming road trip.”

With Elias Lindholm taking a maintenance day on Tuesday, the 22-year-old Lysell skated on a wing with Marat Khusnutdinov at center and Jakub Lauko on the other wing. Assuming Lindholm returns for Thursday, that would presumably mean either Khusnutdinov or Lysell will start the trip in civvies. We’ll see. But Lysell is happy to be back, even though he admitted he was a little surprised it was so long in coming.

“Obviously you want to stick around and I thought I played pretty good (in that game),” said Lysell, who has one more year left on his entry deal. “But that’s how it goes and now I’m back and I’m very excited.”

Lysell, who is fifth in scoring in Providence with 11-23-34 in 51 games, has liked the way his game is trending.

“I think I’ve been hunting pucks pretty well and using my skating to get pucks back,” said Lysell. “Then I think the line I’ve been playing with is creating a lot of offense, so I think I’ve been pretty visible there and it’s probably why I’m here today.”

Now he gets another chance to show he belongs to be here tomorrow and beyond.