The Boston Bruins were a woeful 0-6-0 against the Minnesota Wild at TD Garden in their all-time head-to-head series. But in St. Patrick’s Day, and in their seventh meeting at home against the Wild (and first since 2011), luck was on the Bruins’ side.

Well, at this point, it’s a bit more than luck. Last night’s victory, a 4-1 game that was closer than the score indicated, was Boston’s ninth in a row.

“I think our team is playing really good hockey right now, we’re coming together, our goalies are playing phenomenal too,” B’s forward Reilly Smith, who scored his first goal in 16 games, said after Monday’s win over Minnesota. “It’s good to see our whole team going and I think we’re playing really good hockey right now and the biggest thing is to keep the momentum going.”

Over those nine games, the Bruins have outscored their opponents 36 to 13, have received significant contributions from all four lines, and have had undeniably exceptional goaltending.

And they’ll look for more of that tonight with the 27-year-old Chad Johnson getting the nod against old friend and fan favorite Jaromir Jagr and the New Jersey Devils.

At $600,000, Johnson has been everything and more this season, and has quietly put together a strong run that hasn’t seen him take a loss in regulation since Dec. 28 in Ottawa. In nine starts since the start of the 2014 calendar year, Johnson’s posted an 8-0-1 record and a strong .928 save percentage.Johnson doesn’t need to be an ace for the Black-and-Gold, but he does need to turn in a solid relief appearance when called upon so that the Bruins’ $7 million man in net, Tuukka Rask, can get a breather. Especially during a hectic 17-game month of March. So far, so good.

In front of Johnson, the Bruins will once again be without the services of top-four defender Johnny Boychuk. The 6-foot-2 Boychuk was injured in Saturday’s win on a hard feet-first crash into the boards (and a blocked shot on that same leg moments later didn’t really help), and missed last night’s contest. For Boychuk, it’s an injury that has hampered his skating game a bit, and with such a lead in the Atlantic (and East in general), giving No. 55 some more rest is an easy call.

Based on the pregame warmups, it appears that Corey Potter will draw into the Boston lineup and make his Bruins debut, too. Potter, claimed off waivers on the trade deadline, had five assists, 16 hits, and 17 blocked shots in 16 games for the Edmonton Oilers this season. He’s expected to begin the night on Boston’s top pairing, paired with birthday boy Zdeno Chara.

The Bruins will likely scratch Matt Bartkowski, meaning that Andrej Meszaros will stay in the lineup and on the Bruins’ second defensive pairing (likely with Dougie Hamilton).

This will be Boston’s second of three games against New Jersey this year, and first since Oct. 26. That game was one of the Bruins’ few duds in 2013-14, as they allowed two goals in 23 seconds late in the third period, falling by a 4-3 final despite leading for almost the entire night.

Like they did that night almost six months ago, New Jersey gives the nod to Marty Brodeur.

The 41-year-old Brodeur has won four of his last five starts (he stopped 29 of 32 in a losing effort against the Tampa Bay Lightning in his last start on Mar. 15), and enters tonight’s contest with 25 wins and a .908 save percentage in 57 career starts against the Bruins.

Brodeur’s 8-5-3 with a 2.35 goals against average at home this season.

But for Bruins fans, all eyes will be on another 40-something year old Devil: No. 68, Jagr.

At 42, Jagr’s found his niche with the Devils, scoring 22 goals and 58 points in 68 games this season. That’s an obvious upgrade from Jagr’s brief tenure with Boston, where he scored two goals and 19 points in a combined 33 games (11 regular season, 22 postseason), but served as a quote machine and endearing veteran willing to work as hard as anybody we’ve really ever seen. (I personally hope that Jaromir plays forever, man.)

Despite only skating in 33 games for the Bruins, too, Jagr's more than complimentary of his former teammates. He even went as far to say that B's top-liner Milan Lucic is the most underrated player in the National Hockey League.

Well, that's nice of Jagr to say, but I'm not sure it's 100 percent accurate.

In Boston, Lucic is appreciated to the nth degree. He's everywhere you look. And while it's taken a bit longer than I thought, it seems that that Lucic appreciation has spread throughout the league. Every team (and I mean every team) is looking for the next Milan Lucic in the junior ranks, free agent pool, and probably beyond this solar system.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder is a tank. And he strikes with the stakes at their highest. He's scored 22 goals and 54 points in 84 career playoff contests, and has tallied 28 goals and 71 points in 88 games since the start of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

I think he's on everyone's radar at this point.

And for the record, if you're asking me who I believe the most underrated players in the league are, they include names like Ryan O'Reilly, Wayne Simmonds, Brandon Saad, and Victor Hedman. Just to name a few.

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