Bruins at Rangers preview

BRUINS (6-4-3) at RANGERS (7-7-2)
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV

Goalie Henrik Lundqvist will make his fifth straight start for the Rangers, who have outscored opponents 18-12 during the winning streak.
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, a native of Long Beach, New York, will play at the Garden for the first time in the NHL. McAvoy, who attended Rangers games while growing up, did play at MSG with Boston University against Cornell in 2015.

Players to watch

Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past eight games.
Bruins forward David Pastrnak has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past six games.

They said it

"It's a game that I have been looking forward to. Any time you get to come home and play at a building like this where you grew up going to games, it really meant a lot, it's special so I am excited for tonight." -- Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy
"They are a good team, Boston, and we need to be ready and we are going to focus on that. ... We like to play four lines as much as we can to create that tempo and that's what we are going to try and do tonight." -- Rangers coach Alain Vigneault

Bruins projected lineup

Anders Bjork -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Tim Schaller -- Sean Kuraly -- Danton Heinen
Matt Beleskey -- Riley Nash -- Austin Czarnik
Jake DeBrusk -- Jordan Szwarz -- Frank Vatrano
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Brandon Carlo
Rob O'Gara -- Kevan Miller
Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin
Scratched:Paul Postma
Injured:Brad Marchand (upper body), Noel Acciari (finger), Ryan Spooner (groin), Adam McQuaid (leg), David Krejci (upper body), David Backes (diverticulitis)

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Pavel Buchnevich
Rick Nash -- Kevin Hayes -- Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey -- David Desharnais -- J.T. Miller
Michael Grabner -- Paul Carey -- Jesper Fast
Ryan McDonagh -- Nick Holden
Brady Skjei -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal -- Steven Kampfer
Henrik Lundqvist
Ondrej Pavelec
Scratched:Brendan Smith, Boo Nieves
Injured:None

Status report

Marchand will miss his second straight game. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Acciari, who hasn't played since Oct. 5, could return against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday. Chara is expected to play his 834th game with the Bruins, passing Dit Clapper for fourth-most games played by a defenseman in their history. ... The Rangers will use the same lineup that dressed for a 5-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. Vigneault said Smith, a scratch the past three games, will enter the lineup soon, but didn't say when or for whom.

Stat pack

The Bruins have points in seven of their past eight games (4-1-3). … The Rangers have scored at least five goals in three of their past four games and in four of their past six.