Bruins will be without Taylor Hall, David Krejci vs. Maple Leafs

BOSTON -- The debut of the reworked Bruins third line will have to wait.

Despite Taylor Hall making progress in his recovery from a lower-body injury that's kept him out of game action since February, the third-line winger won't be returning to the lineup on Thursday night against the Maple Leafs.

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told the media at the morning skate Thursday that Hall and second-line center David Krejci won't be playing against Toronto. Krejci also missed Sunday's game in St. Louis after getting dinged up on Saturday in Pittsburgh. Hall sported a regular jersey at practice this week after getting cleared for contact, but he's yet to be cleared to play in a game.

The continued absence for Hall will further delay the debut of the presumed third line, with Hall and trade deadline acquisition Tyler Bertuzzi on the wings with Charlie Coyle at center. Bertuzzi has spent most of his time on Coyle's left wing since joining the Bruins, but he has experience on the right side in his career. That trio figures to be Boston's third line in the playoffs, but Montgomery and the players would surely like to get some live game reps in before that postseason trek begins.

With Krejci out, Pavel Zacha will once again slide over from the wing to center the second line, with Bertuzzi bumping up to play the left wing and David Pastrnak on the right side.

Neither team has much to play for on Thursday night in terms of the standings. The Bruins clinched the Presidents' Trophy last week as the No. 1 team in the league. The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, own a six-point lead over the Lightning for second place in the division, essentially guaranteeing Toronto home ice in a first-round playoff series against Tampa Bay.

The Bruins, though, have a chance at making NHL history. They need two wins to tie the all-time single-season record and three to set a new record, and they're seven points shy of tying the all-time single-season record in that category.

After Thursday's game, the Bruins will host the Devils for a game on Saturday night. They'll make a quick road trip to Philadelphia on Sunday before closing out their season with a home game against Washington on Tuesday and a road game in Montreal on Thursday. The Bruins' postseason is likely to begin on Monday or Tuesday of the following week.