BOSTON — On the verge of their first playoff series win in four years Cassius Marsh Jersey , the Boston Bruins may or not have star and leader Patrice Bergeron back for Game 5 of their first-round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

The Leafs, facing elimination as they seek their first series win since 2004 (and the Original Six franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1967), know they will get one of their best players back Saturday as Nazem Kadri returns from a three-game suspension for a hit in Game 1.

But will it help?

The Bruins, playing without late-scratch Bergeron (upper body), took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 3-1 victory over Toronto on Thursday. They need one win to advance as Bergeron’s status remained unclear Friday.

The team canceled practice, but Bergeron was on the ice at the team’s practice facility with a handful of players early and no decision was announced about Saturday. He has not been ruled out and coach Bruce Cassidy called it “a positive” that Bergeron was skating.

Riley Nash slid into Bergeron’s spot on the top line and played a strong game, helping set up the first goal of the game just 28 seconds after faceoff.

Kadri, who charged Tommy Wingels while Wingels was on his knees against the boards, cost his team dearly when the NHL hit him with the suspension — thus costing the Leafs a 32-goal scorer and one of their best two-way players.

Now he’s back.

“Obviously, he’s a good player,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said Friday. “It’s unfortunate for him that he missed three games Ryan Quigley Jersey , but the way I look at it on our team is you’ve got to be able to pick each other up. We weren’t able to do that.

“He comes back, he’ll make us deeper and we’re excited to have him back. Plus, he’ll have good energy for us. It’s important to have that going into Boston.”

Kadri, who was “disappointed” at the punishment, said, “It’s exciting to get back in. I’ve been champing at the bit the last couple of games here and it’s been hard to watch knowing that you could be out there trying to help and trying to make an impact. I’m happy the time is come.”

The Bruins won the first two games of the series at home, then lost Game 3 in Toronto before riding goaltender Tuukka Rask to Thursday night’s road win.

“Tuukka was our savior tonight,” said Bruins rookie Jake DeBrusk, who made it 3-1 with a third-period goal.

Rask made 31 saves in the victory.

“Tonight we needed him to dig and be very good. And he was,” said Cassidy, whose team stumbled down the stretch to lose out to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the battle for the top spot in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference before getting off to a strong playoff start.

Brad Marchand Chris Ivory Jersey , who scored the winning goal, said, “(Rask) played a phenomenal game. He’s one of the best goalies in the world and he gives us an opportunity to win every night. He made a lot of big saves early on to give us a chance to get back in the game. We really need to give him a lot of credit for tonight.”

The Leafs know what they’re up against, needing three straight wins to upset the higher seed — and Babcock says the attitude is good.

“We talked about that here today,” he said. “The bottom line is — I don’t know how many of you saw this, but last night out there in Maple Leaf Square, they put that on TV. I talked about the national anthem the other day and then last night. To me, if you’re these players and you’ve seen that, you want to see it again.

“The only way we get to see it again is we’ve got to win to play. We’ve got to dig in. We’ve got to compete harder, we’ve got to play better. I thought we did tons of good things last night, we didn’t give up very much David Andrews Jersey , we made a couple of mistakes on a couple of two-on-ones and they didn’t go our way. Dig in and make it go your way. I think you’ve got to enjoy part of the duress of this time of year. Embrace it.”

A look at what’s happening around the majors today:

BIG ARMS IN THE BRONX

With slugger Giancarlo Stanton heating up at the plate, the major league-leading Yankees (49-22) go for a three-game sweep of visiting Seattle. Luis Severino (10-2, 2.09 ERA) pitches for New York against lefty James Paxton (6-1, 3.44), who is 5-0 with a 2.55 ERA since the beginning of May – a nine-start span that includes a no-hitter in Toronto. The Mariners have lost three straight for the first time since April 17-19 against the World Series champion Astros.

STRANGE TO SEE

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (10-3, 2.06 ERA) tries to avoid his first three-game losing streak since August 2015 when the Nationals host lowly Baltimore. He’ll hope to get some help on offense from slumping slugger Bryce Harper, who went 0 for 4 in a rain-delayed 3-0 loss Wednesday night, dropping his batting average to .209. Washington manager Dave Martinez said Harper has been working hard with batting coach Kevin Long. ”He’s going to hit. I know he’s going to carry us for a month or two or for whatever,” Martinez said.

DOCTOR’S APPOINTMENT

Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha (8-2, 3.20 ERA) is scheduled for an MRI after exiting Wednesday’s start with a left oblique strain. ”Feeling a little bit better,” he said following the game. ”I’m hoping for the best.” Carlos Martinez (3-3 Will Lutz Jersey , 2.73) pitches for St. Louis in the opener of a four-game set at Milwaukee. He is 6-4 with a 1.95 ERA against the Brewers. Slumping outfielder Ryan Braun is expected to rejoin the Brewers after the team sent him to Los Angeles on Wednesday for treatment on his achy right thumb. The six-time All-Star is hitting just .236 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs.

SEEKING HIS FIRST WIN

Giants ace Madison Bumgarner (0-2, 4.67 ERA) pitches at home against last-place San Diego, which has dropped four straight. Bumgarner missed the first two months of the season with a broken pinkie. He has lost four in a row to the Padres, who counter with Tyson Ross (5-4, 3.51). Meanwhile, San Francisco right-hander Jeff Samardzija (shoulder tightness) is set to make his second rehab start with Triple-A Sacramento.

READY TO GO

White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia (right hamstring strain) could return to the lineup against Oakland in the opener of a four-game series. Garcia was hitting .333 with two home runs and seven RBIs during a six-game rehab stint with Triple-A Charlotte. He batted .330 with 18 homers and 80 RBIs last season, making his first All-Star team.

COMING UP EMPTY

Boston will be looking for a couple of clutch hits against the Minnesota Twins in the finale of its road trip. The Red Sox were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position Wednesday and are 2 for 22 in the first two games of the series. They stranded 18 runners in those two games and have lost four of five overall. Rick Porcello (8-3, 3.70 ERA) starts against Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson (2-4, 3.27), who has allowed only five runs over his last four starts spanning 26 2/3 innings.

—

Omari Spellman Jersey