Need to Know: Bruins at Rangers

New York- The Bruins gear up for the second game of their back-to-back series in New York with a matchup against the Rangers on Friday night.
Keeping Thursday night's defeat on Long Island in the rear-view mirror, the B's will be hungry for two points against a Rangers team they have found success against so far this season.
Their previous matchups came up Black & Gold as Brad Marchand scored moments into overtime in a 3-2 victory on February 10th, and again, when winger Nick Ritchie grabbed the team's lone tally in the Bruins' 1-0 win on February 12th at Madison Square Garden.
Here's everything else you need to know ahead of Friday night's 7 p.m. puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

Learning Curve

With injures still plaguing the Bruins' defense, the B's blue-liners will look to find for their footing while maximizing their opportunity in game action. Urho Vaakaninen, in particular, who lined up on the first defensive pairing on Thursday night in Long Island alongside Charlie McAvoy, will continue finding his rhythm on the back end.
"He is a guy that we feel, down the road, will be a good shutdown guy. Because of injuries in the back end he is getting pushed up to the top, maybe a little sooner than everyone would like," said Coach Bruce Cassidy during his media availability ahead of Friday night's game in The Big Apple. "But you've got to take the good in that as you're going to get a good read on him now…it's good for him to say, hey, this is what I'm up going to be up against every night."
"He's got to have a bit of a cornerback mentality," continued Cassidy. "In football, you've got to put it behind you. There's another wide receiver coming [today] and that just happens to be [Chris Kreider], [Mika Zibanejad]."
Cassidy remained confident in Vaakaninen's skill set, explaining that he's ready to get the young defenseman more minutes out on the ice for Friday's game.
"Vaak will get right back out there and hopefully has a strong game."

Griz On The Mend

Cassidy provided a brief update on the health status of defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who traveled on the trip to New York but remained out during Thursday night's loss.
"We're looking at Sunday now," Cassidy stated. "He'll get one more practice tomorrow, so hopefully he will get clearance for Sunday. He will not be in [Friday].

Fans Return

For the first time since March 10, 2020, the Bruins will play in front of fans - albeit a far more limited amount than they are used to - on Friday night. The Rangers will welcome back spectators for the first time with New York state guidelines allowing for 10 percent capacity, which equates to about 2,000 fans.
"I think it will definitely beat those printouts that the Islanders have in their stands. They'll actually be able to move so that will be exciting," joked Connor Clifton.
In some ways, the Bruins have become used to playing without fans, dating back to the Toronto bubble over the summer. Now, it will be an adjustment to welcome back some natural crowd noise.
"There's just no atmosphere without fans]," said Clifton. "You create your own energy. I think we've done a really good job with it. Obviously, we're all excited to get back to that."
On Thursday, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that TD Garden - and other arenas and stadiums across the state - would be able to welcome back fans beginning on March 22 at 12 percent capacity. The B's first home game with fans back on Causeway Street is slated for March 23 against the Islanders.
"An incredible amount of work and collaboration has taken place over the past year in preparation for the return of fans to TD Garden," said Bruins president Cam Neely. "The processes and protocols that have been put in place are structured to ensure the safety, wellbeing, and enjoyment of our fans. We are beyond excited to welcome back the best fans in hockey to TD Garden as their energy and enthusiasm have been greatly missed."
[Learn more about the re-opening of TD Garden and the building's new 'Play It Safe' guidelines and protocols:

Opposing View

The Rangers will be without Kaapo Kakko and K'Andre Miller, who currently still sit on the COVID-19 protocol list. Defenseman Jacob Trouba will also remain sidelined with a broken thumb.
Artemi Panarin, one of New York's star wingers, is currently taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team and will be unavailable for Friday night's game as well.

By The Numbers:

• Brad Marchand's next goal will be his 300th NHL goal.
• Patrice Bergeron is one point short of passing Bobby Orr (888 pts) for 5th place on the club's all-time scoring list.
• Tuukka Rask is two wins shy of his 300th NHL victory.
• The Bruins play 8 sets of back-to-back games this season … They are currently 1-1-0 in the 1st game of those sets and are 0-1-0 in the 2nd games so far.
• The Bruins are 5-3-0 in their last 8 games and are 10-3-1 in their last 14 games.
• The Bruins visit the Rangers tonight in the 2nd of 8 games between these teams this season and the 2nd of 4 to be played at Madison Square Garden this year.

Friday's Projected Lineup:

FORWARDS
Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak
Ritchie - Coyle - Smith
Bjork - Studnicka - DeBrusk
Frederic - Kuraly - Wagner
DEFENSEMEN
Vaakanainen - McAvoy
Zboril - Carlo
Moore - Clifton/Kampfer
GOALIES
Rask
Halak