Rangers Return Home to Take on Red-Hot Bruins

Rangers (25-23-5, 55 pts) vs. Bruins (31-11-8, 70 pts)

8 pm; Madison Square Garden

NBCSN; ESPN 98.7 FM

Tonight is the third and last meeting between the Rangers and Bruins this season, with New York taking the first two games, including a 3-2 overtime win on Dec. 16 in Boston. Ryan McDonagh leads all players with three assists through the first two games of the season series.
Boston enters the game as one of the hottest teams in the NHL with eight wins in their last 10 games, and have just two regulation losses since Dec. 14. The Bruins topped Detroit, 3-2, Tuesday evening to pull within three points of Tampa for the top spot overall in the NHL with two games in hand.
Brad Marchand will return to the Bruins lineup after serving a suspension. He leads the club with 50 points in 38 games, followed by linemates David Pastrnak's 50 points in 51 games, and Patrice Bergeron's 44 in 46 games.
Goaltender Anton Khudobin could start against the Rangers after Tuukka Rask got the start Tuesday against the Red Wings. Khudobin is 10-3-4 with a 2.36 GAA and a .924 SV% this season.

Players to Watch

There are few teams Lundqvist hasn't had success against in his career, but the Bruins are at the top of his list of teams he's performed well against, going 27-12-2 with a 1.93 GAA and a .936 SV% and six shutouts. More recently, Lundqvist has a win in each of his last six appearances against Boston dating back to Jan. 11, 2016, making 194 saves on 204 shots he faced.
As stated, Marchand will return to the Bruins lineup Wednesday after a suspension following an illegal hit against the Devils on Jan. 23. The winger was red-hot with four consecutive multi-point games, including a goal and an assist against New Jersey in his final game.

Inside the Numbers

Since Mar. 24, 2007, 26 of the 38 meetings between the Rangers and Bruins have been decided by one goal, and nine of those contests have been decided in either overtime or a shootout. In addition, 32 of the 38 meetings over the span have been decided by two or fewer goals.