Preview: Rangers Battle Bruins in Final Game Before All-Star Break

RANGERS at BRUINS, 7 p.m.MSG, 98.7 FM
There will be no shortage of personal intrigue when the Rangers march into TD Garden in Boston on Saturday night: It will be a first-time homecoming for more than one of the Blueshirts, who will have one last chance to grab points before beginning their nine-day break around the All-Star Game.
But no matter what else is going on Saturday night, David Quinn started reminding his players of one thing almost as soon as they finished playing the Blackhawks on Thursday night: "We're going there to win a hockey game."
Saturday's game is No. 48 on the Rangers' schedule, and coming as it does before a nine-day gap in their calendar, "It is huge," Quinn said after the Rangers wrapped up practice on Friday in Westchester. "It's something we just talked about twice on the ice. Everybody understands the timeline and where we're at and what's in front of us after tomorrow, but for every time you think about what beach you're going to be on, and what hotel you're going to be staying at, you're taking away from what our task is tomorrow."

"Boston's going to get our full attention," Kevin Shattenkirk added. "No one's looking past it."
There is no question, of course, that this game will carry a little something extra for Quinn, as it will for Adam McQuaid. Quinn will be coaching in Beantown for the first time as an NHL coach, and the first time since stepping down as head coach at his alma mater, Boston University, to take the helm of the Rangers. Quinn played three years as a Terrier, returned to serve as an assistant for five more, then was the head man at the hockey program from 2013 until coming to Broadway last spring.
On Saturday, he'll be coaching in a rink where he took part in seven Beanpot championship games as a player and head coach, winning three of them. As the Terriers' bench boss, Quinn's teams went 10-7 at TD Garden, including the 2015 Beanpot championship and Hockey East titles in 2015 and 2018. It's a rink where "we played some big games," Quinn said, and also the place where "we lost a crushing game that I'll never get over" - his Terriers' 4-3 loss to Providence in the 2015 NCAA title game.
"For me personally, going to school there and coaching in Boston, coaching so many games at (TD) Garden, it'll definitely mean a lot more to me," Quinn said. "There's an awful lot that went on in that building for me personally."
"There's going to be a lot of people there watching him, obviously. He's going to be excited," said Shattenkirk, who played three seasons at BU when Quinn was an assistant coach there. "He's earned it, and he will definitely cherish it. Hopefully we can get him a big win to top it all off."
McQuaid manned the blue line for nine seasons in Boston, where he helped win the Stanley Cup in 2011. Saturday night's game will be the 486th of his NHL career, and his first against the Bruins. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder brought his steady and physical brand of play over to Broadway in a September trade, and lately has been one of the contributors to the Rangers' winning three out of four games as they head into the pre-break finale in Boston.
With a chance to carry that momentum into the break, Shattenkirk said, "We're at a point now where every win, every point counts. You definitely don't want to be sitting on a 10-day break knowing that you let one slip. … Let's finish the job here, let's get our two points, and make sure that we're ending on a high note."
The Rangers - who will play without Dorchester, Mass., native Kevin Hayes (upper body) for the ninth straight game - have scored 15 goals over their last three games, winning the last two at the Garden by a combined 10-5 score over which their top line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello combined for 13 points. Zuccarello - "the guy that's stirred the drink," in Quinn's words following Thursday's 4-3 win over Chicago - has scored four goals during a four-game points streak.
At the back end, Ryan Lindgren will be making something of a return himself, although far more importantly will be preparing to play in his third NHL game. The 20-year-old blueliner, who made his NHL debut on Tuesday, was the second-round pick of the Bruins in 2016; he was part of the package Boston sent to Broadway last Feb. 25 in exchange for Rick Nash. "It'll be pretty cool to go into that building and be wearing a Ranger jersey and playing against them," Lindgren said on Friday.
His NHL debut behind him, Lindgren, his coach, and his defense partner all saw the young blueliner take another step forward in Thursday's win over the Blackhawks.
"I just thought I maybe wasn't as nervous," Lindgren said. "The second game for me, I thought I played better, I was smarter with the puck, I thought I defended better. But I'm still adjusting to the pace. I think it was a step in the right direction for sure."
"He's been solid. He's done a good job of not trying to do too much, which is important - you can get caught up in trying to make a first impression," said Shattenkirk, who has been extra talkative with his young D partner. "It seems like every shift he goes out there he feels more comfortable."
Following back-to-back losses to start the week, the Bruins, like the Rangers, started slow on Thursday night but then busted out, scoring four unanswered for a 5-2 win over St. Louis. The win moved them to 17-6-1 TD Garden, one of the league's best home-ice records.
Three of the players on Boston's roster were among Quinn's charges at BU - Charlie McAvoy, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Matt Grzelcyk (who did not play against St. Louis).
"It'll be a little strange, I'm not going to lie - it'll be a little strange to have three of them over on the other team," Quinn said. "But once the puck drops you don't really pay attention to it."

PROJECTED LINEUP

20 Kreider - 93 Zibanejad - 36 Zuccarello
72 Chytil - 16 Strome - 17 Fast
26 Vesey - 24 Nieves - 90 Namestnikov
8 McLeod - 21 Howden - 89 Buchnevich
18 Staal - 77 DeAngelo
76 Skjei - 54 McQuaid
55 Lindgren - 22 Shattenkirk
30 Lundqvist
32 Mazanec

NUMBERS GAME

The Rangers are 7-1 in their last eight games against Boston, where they have not lost since November of 2015. They have outscored the Bruins 26-12 in the seven wins.
At 445 wins, Henrik Lundqvist is one victory from passing Terry Sawchuk into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time NHL list. Tuukka Rask's next victory will make him the winningest goaltender in Bruins history; he and Tiny Thompson are tied with 252.
Torey Krug, who scored his fifth goal of the year against St. Louis, is fifth in the league among defensemen in points per 60 minutes (2.38).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Mika Zibanejad, the Rangers' leading scorer, has seven points and a plus-5 rating over his current four-game points streak; a five-game points streak would be a new season-high.
Patrice Bergeron, who missed more than a month with a rib injury, has 40 points (14-26-40) in 32 games; his 1.25 points per game are by far a career-high pace for the 15-year NHL veteran.

WHADDYA SAY?

"I got out of the ticket business - there is not one ticket I'm leaving for anybody tomorrow night. They can all watch it on MSG or NESN." - David Quinn on his first game in Boston behind an NHL bench
"There's a lot that he meant to this group. First and foremost, a great guy, a great person, a great teammate. He had some success here - a Stanley Cup champion. He's a really close friend of mine and it'll be good to have him back." - Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller on Adam McQuaid