The Rangers come to town fresh off a whirlwind day that included the firing of president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton. New York then fell to the Washington Capital, 4-2, in a fight-filled affair that came in response to an incident with the Caps' Tom Wilson two nights before. There were six fights in the first period, including three off the opening faceoff.
New York, who put forth a strong push for a postseason spot over the last month, has been eliminated from playoff contention after four straight losses.
"It will be the same as any team coming in off a back-to-back," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of tonight's approach. "We want to get the jump on them, get going. We had the day off [on Wednesday], we have more to play for than they do. We don't get into specifics about the dynamics of their team. I think everyone is aware of what happened. There were some changes made there.
"That will be the message: start on time, which isn't that different from every other night. But this one is a little more important considering there was a lot of emotions in the game last night."
The Rangers will be without leading scorer Artemi Panarin (injured in the Wilson incident), Ryan Lindgren, and Jacob Trouba for the remainder of the season.
Pavel Buchnevich, who will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for high-sticking, is also out for the Rangers' final two games.
"For us, it's more about what does our lineup look like because you always do your pre-scout on tendencies of individuals and the system," said Cassidy. "Systems don't change, but some of the individuals applying or executing those systems will, if they're out.
"And if there are some younger guys, how do you take advantage of guys that haven't been in the league that long. Usually, it's by taking away time and space early on until they're comfortable.
