Bruins at Rangers
The Boston Bruins must battle through adversity for the near future without their top two goaltenders, and it doesn’t get any easier as they visit the well-rested New York Rangers on Wednesday. Tuukka Rask (lower body) is out indefinitely and backup Anton Khudobin (upper body) is lost for about three weeks, forcing the Bruins to go with a pair of rookies in the crease.
Former first-round pick Malcolm Subban got the call Tuesday and was pulled in the second period of Boston’s 5-0 loss to Minnesota, meaning Zane McIntyre could get his first NHL start against the Rangers. New York won’t feel sorry for the Bruins as it goes for a third straight win after grinding through a 3-2 victory over Arizona on Sunday. “It’s not going to be perfect every night, but you can’t open yourself up to big mistakes, and we didn’t,” Rangers center Derek Stepan told reporters. “In this league, you just have to find a way to win a hockey game.” New York is third in the league in scoring (3.67 goals per game) and Henrik Lundquist has allowed two goals in each of his last three contests.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVA
ABOUT THE BRUINS (3-3-0): Boston also was without power forward David Backes on Tuesday due to an undisclosed injury and he is considered day-to-day, but it did see the return of defenseman Adam McQuaid (upper body). Though he was kept off the scoresheet against the Wild, Brad Marchand has picked up where he left off in the World Cup with a team-high nine points in his first six contests while David Pastrnak has notched seven. Rookie Brandon Carlo has performed well on the blue line for the Bruins, posting a pair of points and a plus-6 rating.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (4-2-0): Leading scorer Chris Kreider is expected to miss a second straight game due to neck spasms after posting three goals and four assists in his first five contests of the season. Newcomer Mika Zibanejad has registered six points while Mats Zuccarello has recorded two goals and three assists with a plus-4 rating. Defenseman Daniel Girardi returned to the lineup against Arizona after missing three contests with a groin injury to score the winning goal while Oscar Lindberg was activated from injured reserve to play his first game of the season.
OVERTIME
1. Boston Fs Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes have yet to record a point in the first six games and are a minus-13 combined.
2. New York F Jesper Fast has been limited to just three assists in the early going but owns an impressive plus-5 rating.
3. The home team has won the last six games in the series and the Rangers took two of three last season.