Pluses, minuses for Bruins, Rangers

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season, Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing in the NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry game in his Weekes on the Web blog. Weekes also will assist fans with three must-watch elements of the game.

The Boston Bruins and New York Rangers are heading in opposite directions. Boston has won three straight games and has lost once in regulation in its past 22 (17-1-4). The Bruins are three points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand.
New York has lost three straight, six of seven and nine of 12. The Rangers are in last place in the Metropolitan Division, three points out of the second wild card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10.
Will the Bruins (32-11-8) continue to roll when they visit the Rangers (25-23-5) at Madison Square Garden in the week's Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)? Here's my breakdown of the game:

Bruins

Pluses: It's hard to imagine them playing any better, but they just might with the addition of Brad Marchand, who returns Wednesday from a five-game suspension. I'd expect him to resume his role on the top line with David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron in what has been one of the NHL's best lines this season. The three are the top three scorers on the Bruins, with Marchand and Pastrnak (21 goals, 29 assists each) leading the way.
Next up is Tuukka Rask. His streak of 21 straight starts without losing in regulation is amazing. He's gone 19-0-2 with a save percentage of .941 and has to be in the Vezina Trophy conversation. He played Tuesday in a 3-2 road win against the Detroit Red Wings, but I wouldn't be surprised if he starts against the Rangers. Even if he doesn't, backup Anton Khudobin (10-3-4, 2.36 goals-against average, .924 save percentage) has filled in admirably, which is something Boston struggled with in the past few seasons when Rask didn't play.
Lastly, their ability to move the puck out of their defensive zone and into the neutral zone and offensive zone is second to none. They also have great balance between moving the puck from low to high and going east to west and diagonally on the ice. This makes it very difficult to match up and defend against them. The Bruins are able to keep teams off-balance by using the whole length of the ice. Along with the Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins, the Bruins are one of the best puck-moving teams in the League.

Minuses: As a star player on his line and in the League, Marchand needs to make an adjustment once and for all so that the Bruins know what they're getting from him each game and his actions won't compromise his team. I'd like to think he has a grasp of this now, especially since he's been suspended multiple times and is such a key piece to the Bruins. They went 4-1-0 in his absence but would've much rather preferred him to be in the lineup.
I'd still like to see production from all four lines. Boston gets production from its top three lines but Frank Vatrano, Sean Kuraly,
Austin Czarnik
(and Noel Acciari when healthy) haven't done much offensively. Not that the Bruins have needed them to score, but it would be nice to know they can chip offensively in if needed.
The Bruins are a faster team with more finesse. Besides Zdeno Chara and Adam McQuaid, they aren't very physical. It will be interesting to see how they handle that if the Rangers throw some of that at them.

Rangers

Pluses: The good thing is that they have Henrik Lundqvist in goal. He made 41 saves against the Dallas Stars in a 2-1 loss on Monday. The 35-year-old played in the Honda NHL All-Star Game 10 days ago and gives New York a chance to win almost every game. He's been the Rangers' MVP for a long time now, and they'll need that out of him if they expect to go on a run.
The Rangers may be in last place in the division, but they're only three points out of a playoff spot. They also play enough games with the teams in front of them that they can gain ground if they take care of business -- something that's easier said than done. In a game like this, playing at home and getting the last change is a big plus. The Rangers are 17-9-3 at Madison Square Garden despite going 3-4-0 in their past seven home games.
They've also been able to spread the offense around, with eight players having 10 or more goals.

Minuses: It's been somewhat distracting to hear the reports of possible trades. Forward Rick Nash admitted he submitted a no-trade list and could be leaving. Forward Michael Grabner and defenseman Ryan McDonagh have also been in the rumor mill. Grabner leads them in goals (21) and is so fast and explosive that can turn a game around. McDonagh, the captain, has been an important piece of their defense and power play for years, so losing him would be a big blow.
The Rangers have been bitten by injuries this season. Forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk are two big pieces of the team, and the Rangers have struggled without them. Forwards Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Vesey, and defenseman Marc Staal have recently been injured, which doesn't help.
New York plays with speed; that's how the Rangers win games. For whatever reason, they haven't played a speed game consistently; when they have, they win more than not. But there have been too many games this season when they haven't used their speed enough, and it's cost them.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. Which line will Rangers coach Alain Vigneault match up against the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak line?
   2. How will Marchand fare in his return?
   3. What will the desperation level of the Rangers be? I'm expecting them to come out hard for a full 60 minutes.