Rangers at Bruins
Two of the hottest teams in the league resume their long-standing rivalry when the Boston Bruins host the New York Rangers on Thursday night. The Bruins are looking to match a season-high five-game winning streak against their Original Six rivals, who have been victorious in 13 of their last 15 and had their own five-game winning streak halted by the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Boston swept the series last season, winning all three matchups.
Coincidentally, the Bruins and Rangers are both fourth-place clubs and coming off showdowns against their respective division leaders. The Rangers were dominated by the first-place Islanders 3-0 and are seven points back in the Metropolitan Division while Boston continued its hot stretch by knocking off Atlantic Division front-runner Tampa Bay. It is the opener of a three-game road trip for New York, which has won four in a row away from home.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVA, MSG (New York), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (24-12-4): New York received a scare when forward Derek Stepan, fourth on the team in scoring with 27 points despite playing in only 28 games, had to leave Tuesday's contest when he was slashed on the right hand and did not return. Stepan, who missed the first 12 games of the season while recovering from a broken leg, is listed as day-to-day and is "most unlikely" to play against the Bruins, coach Alain Vigneault said. Backup netminder Cam Talbot, who came on in the third period Tuesday, will get the surprise start versus Boston.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (23-15-6): Boston has received an offensive jolt from 18-year-old David Pastrnak, who has back-to-back two-goal performances and will be playing in his fourth game since returning from the World Juniors. "Whenever he gets an opportunity to join the rush and attack, he attacks the net and challenges goalies that way," goaltender Tuukka Rask said. “We don’t necessarily have too many guys like that, so it’s really a good sign." Boston must decide whether to return Pastrnak to the minors or keep him for the rest of the season after Thursday's game.
OVERTIME
1. The Bruins are riding an eight-game point streak (5-0-3) since a 6-2 drubbing at Columbus on Dec. 27.
2. Talbot is 2-3-0 with a 3.05 goals-against average versus Boston.
3. Bruins F Milan Lucic had three two-point performances in his last four games.