Game 25: Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers Lines, Preview

The Boston Bruins (14-6-4, 32 pts, .667 %) will try to sweep a two-game set and win their fourth in five games against the New York Rangers (10-12-3, 23 pts, .460%) this season at a 1 PM ET matinee at TD Garden today.

The Bruins bounced back from a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Islanders this past Tuesday, with a 4-0 win over the Rangers on Thursday. Brad Marchand had three assists; David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron each had a goal and an assist, and Jake DeBrusk and David Pastrnak each lit the lamp as well.

After a 27-save shutout Thursday, Jaroslav Halak (6-2-2, 1.88 GAA, .927 save percentage) will be back between the pipes for the Boston Bruins.

Rangers backup Keith Kinkaid will get the nod for the Blueshirts after starter Alexander Georgiev was pulled Thursday when allowed four goals on 14 shots in 24:52. Kinkaid has appeared in three games for the Rangers this season and is 0-1-0 with a 2.21 GAA and .912 save percentage.

Bruins Notes

–After sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch Tuesday on Long Island, DeBrusk came back with a vengeance Thursday, playing with noticeably more concerted effort and a snarl. That edge paid off as he snapped a seven-game goal drought and netted his second goal of the season. The embattled winger let the media know he’s been reading their criticism and is now channeling the anger he felt from it into a meaner game on the ice.

“I know what I need to do, but there’s been a lot of articles. So, you guys can probably figure it out too, to be honest with you,” said DeBrusk following the win Thursday. “It’s my job to be the best I can be every single day. I’m a pretty easy target at the moment. I understand the territory and it’s pretty much warranted. I get that. But I take it personally. Who wouldn’t?

“Anytime you get scratched it stings. I was beyond frustrated already at that point, and it was a nice little reset for me because I knew I was going to come with some heat today. I need to bring that consistently. The reason I played the way I did tonight was because I was pissed off. I think I need to keep that. The game is over, and everybody is happy, and it’s a different narrative now because I scored. But I’m keeping that [anger]. It’s not going away.”

-Krejci got of a much bigger goal schneide as he scored his first regular season goal in 35 games dating back to Feb. 20, 2020 last season.

– Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed that in just his first game of the season Thursday, rookie forward Zach Senyshyn had suffered an upper-body injury and will be out ‘A while’. That means forward Chris Wagner will draw back in on the grind line with Sean Kuraly and Trent Frederic.

– As for the rest of the Bruins’ MASH unit, Cassidy did caution that there is a chance that after missing practice on Friday, winger Brad Marchand could be out today. We shall see. Other than that, Jeremy Lauzon (broken hand), Kevan Miller (knee), and Rask all remain sidelined.

-Dan Vladar will back up Halak for a third straight game as Tuukka Rask continues to be out with a “lingering issue” that came about at the end of the Bruins’ 1-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils last Sunday. Cassidy confirmed Friday, that if Rask isn’t back skating with the team tomorrow that Vladar will start the first of back-to-back games against the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday and Tuesday.

–The Bruins went 1-for-2 on the powerplay Thursday and are now 17-for-66 on the man advantage this season. They’re 10th in the NHL with a 25.8 percent success rate.

-The Boston Bruins PK killed off all four Rangers’ powerplays Thursday. The penalty kill remains the best in the NHL with an 88.8 percent success rate. They’ve killed off 71 of 80 powerplay attempts against them.

Rangers Notes

– Artemi Panarin (five goals, 18 points in 14 games) is expected to be back into the lineup for the Rangers after missing three weeks on a leave of absence. Panarin left the team after false assault allegations against him in Russia were made as political retaliation for his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

-After going 0-for-4 on Thursday, the Rangers are 14-for-95 on the powerplay. The Blueshirts are 26th in the NHL on the powerplay with a 15.4 percent success rate.

-The Rangers PK ranks fourth in the NHL with an 86.3 percent success rate. They’ve killed off 69 of the 80 powerplay attempts they’ve faced.

Boston Bruins Lines

**Note: This is how the Bruins lined up at practice Friday with Marchand out.**

Forwards:

Nick Ritchie – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak

Jake DeBrusk – David Krejci – Charlie Coyle

Anders Bjork – Jack Studnicka – Craig Smith

Trent Frederic – Sean Kuraly – Chris Wagner

Defense:

Matt Grzelcyk – Charlie McAvoy

Jakub Zboril – Connor Clifton

Jarred Tinordi – Urho Vaakanainen

Goalies:

Jaroslav Halak

Dan Vladar

New York Rangers Lines

Forwards

Panarin-Strome-Kreider

Buchnevich — Zibanejad — Lafreniere

Chytil — Rooney — Kakko

Giuseppe — Howden — Blackwell

Note: We’re making a guess here that Gauthier is the odd man out but won’t know until warmups.

Defense

Johnson — Smith

Fox — Lindgren

Trouba — Miller

Goalie:

Alex Georgiev