Bruins are in need of adding a key player by the trade deadline and they may be looking at the Canucks as a potential partner

The Boston Bruins are in unfamiliar territory and a response is imminent. With 46 games played, the Bruins hang onto the second Wild Card spot by one point. They've won their last two games but dropped six straight before that to land themselves in a position of great uncertainty with the trade deadline less than two months away.

Due to this, for the first time in a long time, the Bruins are not a guaranteed playoff team. With this, Bruins president Cam Neely was transparent and recently noted that the Bruins could retool their roster at the trade deadline this year.

It's still too soon to be certain, but the Maple Leafs may be headed for a playoff showdown against either the Ottawa Senators or the Montreal Canadiens.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are scheduled and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups.