Bruins at Rangers
The New York Rangers continue to show an amazing resiliency as they attempt to hold off the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Holding a two-point edge over the Penguins and having played one more game, New York looks to hand the visiting Boston Bruins their fourth straight defeat on Wednesday night.
The Rangers are coming off a 4-2 victory over Florida on Monday, setting a franchise record with their 13th consecutive win following a regulation loss. In fact, New York hasn't suffered consecutive regulation defeats since a three-game skid from Dec. 17-20, but it has lost six of its last eight against Boston. The Bruins were outscored 9-3 during the California portion of their four-game road trip to fall into third place in the Atlantic, three points behind division pace-setters Tampa Bay and Florida and three ahead of fourth-place Detroit. "We know the standings are tight and it's up to us," Boston center Patrice Bergeron said.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE BRUINS (39-26-8): Goaltender Tuukka Rask missed practice Tuesday due to feeling ill, but will accompany the team to New York, although Jeremy Smith was summoned from the minors on an emergency basis. Boston also promoted high-scoring Frank Vatrano, who netted 33 goals in 33 games with Providence of the American Hockey League. "Our top two lines have been producing on a fairly regular basis, so we need some secondary scoring," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "If he gets in there with the way that he can score, hopefully he can give us some of that.”
ABOUT THE RANGERS (41-24-8): Forward Rick Nash missed 20 games and nearly two months while dealing with a painful bone bruise in his leg and failed to hit the scoresheet in his first five contests, but he finally broke the drought with a goal in Monday's win. "That injury kept him from doing anything as far as weight-bearing for close to six weeks," New York coach Alain Vigneault said. "He's probably still not fully recovered. ... There's no doubt in my mind that his play is on the right track." Nash skipped practice Tuesday but is expected to play versus Boston.
OVERTIME
1. Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist is 22-12-2 with a 1.95 goals-against average and six shutouts versus Boston.
2. Bergeron is scoreless in four straight games, his longest drought of the season.
3. New York has yielded one power-play goal in seven of 10 games this month.