Bruins at Rangers preview

BRUINS (‪32-11-8) at RANGERS (25-23-5)
‪8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV

Marchand, whose 50 points (21 goals, 29 assists) are tied with David Pastrnak for the Bruins lead, was suspended five games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for elbowing New Jersey Devils forward Marcus Johansson on Jan. 23. Boston went 4-1-0 without him, including a 3-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, and is 8-1-0 in its past nine.
The Rangers have lost three straight games (0-3-0) and are 4-10-0 since Jan. 3 to fall three points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. However, they've won seven in a row against Boston and are 2-0-0 this season

Players to watch

Pastrnak has four goals and seven assists during a nine-game point streak, his second-longest of the season behind an NHL career-high 12-game run (5-8-13) ‪from Nov. 22-Dec. 18.
Rangers forward Rick Nash has no points in four games but has seven points (six goals, one assist) and 30 shots on goal in his past nine. He's four points from 800 in his NHL career.

They said it

"It's always a little different coming back. They definitely pushed me while I was out. Hopefully I feel good." -- Bruins forward Brad Marchand
"We're trying to play consistent hockey as a team. All we can control right now is how we play. We understand we're playing a good opponent but right now I'm more worried about us. -- Rangers forward J.T. Miller

Bruins projected lineup

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

Rangers projected lineup

Rick Nash -- Mika Zibanejad -- Mats Zuccarello
J.T. Miller -- David Desharnais --
Vinni Lettieri
Michael Grabner -- Kevin Hayes -- Jesper Fast
Cody McLeod -- Peter Holland -- Paul Carey
Ryan McDonagh -- Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei -- Nick Holden
Brendan Smith -- Steven Kampfer
Henrik Lundqvist
Ondrej Pavelec
Scratched:None
Injured:Pavel Buchnevich (concussion symptoms), Chris Kreider (rib surgery), Kevin Shattenkirk (knee surgery), Jimmy Vesey (concussion), Marc Staal (cervical strain )

Status report

Vatrano was injured Tuesday and won't play. Acciari and Miller could return Saturday or Sunday, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. … Vesey remains in concussion protocol but skated with Buchnevich and Kreider on Wednesday. Shattenkirk is off crutches. More will be known about Staal within 48 hours, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.

Stat pack

The Bruins are 17-1-4 in their past 22 games and 26-4-4 in their past 34 ... Lundqvist is 6-0-0 with a 1.66 goals-against average and .951 save percentage in his past six games against Boston.