Jonathan Aspirot joined the Bruins for the road trip and was a full participant in Sunday’s practice. The 26-year-old defenseman suffered an upper-body injury on Dec. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets and has not played since.

The Bruins made a pair of roster moves following what was their fifth straight loss Saturday night in Buffalo.

The Boston Bruins make the first of three Western Canadian stops on their season-long, five-game road trip, visiting the Calgary Flames for a Monday night matchup of teams trending in opposite directions as they fight in crowded playoff races.

Mattias Samuelsson had a goal and two assists as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 for their eighth straight victory.

The Bruins have skidded to sixth in the Atlantic and out of the top eight in the East. They need to right the ship quickly post-break.

The Boston Bruins will not be home again until 2026, but before 2025 concludes, they open a five-game road trip that starts on Saturday, Dec. 27 against the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

Calgary has won four of its seven games as a favorite this season. In four games with moneyline odds shorter than -135, the Flames have two wins. According to the moneyline odds, Calgary has a 57.4% chance of winning this contest.

The 19-year-old was acquired by Boston at last year’s trade deadline in a deal that sent Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche. Zellers is among the top freshman in college hockey. In 18 games for North Dakota, Zellers has 10 goals and five assists.

Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha knows the team has to start winning games. The Bruins entered the Holiday break on a four-game losing streak, and after the break, Boston suffered a 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.