Rangers Head to Boston to Battle Bruins

Rangers (17-12-3, 37 pts) at Bruins (15-10-4, 34 pts)

5 pm; TD Garden

MSG+, ESPN 1050 AM

Saturday marks the second of three meetings between New York and Boston, with the Rangers taking the first, 4-2, at The Garden back on Nov. 8.
The Bruins enter today's game with seven wins in their last 10 contests, though they're coming off a 5-3 loss to the Capitals Thursday evening. They're currently third in the Atlantic Division, seven points behind Toronto for the second spot.
David Pastrnak is leading the team with 29 points in 29 games, followed closely by Brad Marchand's 26, though in just 21 games this season. Goaltender Tuukka Rask is back after an early season injury limited his time. He's expected to get the start and enters the game with an 8-8-2 record to go along with a 2.41 GAA and a .914 SV%.

Players to Watch

David Desharnais knows the Bruins well from his time in Montreal. In fact, No. 51 has more goals (eight), assists (16) and points (24) against Boston than any other team he's face in his NHL career. Desharnais has a point in 11 of his last 16 games against the Bruins, and comes into today's matchup with assists in his last two games overall.
Marchand is unlike any player in the NHL in that he's effective offensively while still being a sandpaper-type of player who teams hate to play against. The 29-year-old is red-hot with points in seven straight, with four goals during that span and four multi-point performances. He also picked up 12 PIMs Thursday against the Capitals and had a major penalty for a hit on the Islanders' John Tavares last week.

Rangers Projected Lineup

Chris Kreider - David Desharnais - Pavel Buchnevich
Rick Nash - J.T. Miller - Mats Zuccarello
Michael Grabner - Kevin Hayes - Jesper Fast
Paul Carey - Boo Nieves - Jimmy Vesey
Ryan McDonagh - Nick Holden
Brady Skjei - Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal - Brendan Smith

Inside the Numbers

The Blueshirts have earned a win in each of their last six games against Boston, dating back to Jan. 11, 2016, and the Rangers have outscored the Bruins, 23-10, in the six contests. New York has won at least six consecutive games against Boston for the first time since an eight-game winning streak from Nov. 20, 2005 to Mar. 24, 2007.
Since Mar. 24, 2007, 25 of the 37 meetings between the Rangers and Bruins have been decided by one goal, and eight of those contests have been decided in either overtime or a shootout. In addition, 31 of the 37 meetings over the span have been decided by two or fewer goals.