Rangers at Bruins
The New York Rangers are on a roll but will face a tough test against a resurgent rival when they visit the Boston Bruins on Saturday night. The high-scoring Rangers have won three in a row and six of their last seven to move into a first-place tie with defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh atop the Metropolitan Division.
New York is averaging a shade over four goals per game to lead the NHL and pumped in 16 tallies during its perfect three-game homestand, capped by Thursday's 5-3 win over Edmonton. The Rangers will be playing only their fourth road game of the season, but they breezed to a 5-2 win over the Bruins on Oct. 26 at Madison Square Garden. That loss kicked off a four-game road trip for Boston, which rebounded by winning its next three and permitting a combined five goals. The Bruins needed 10 rounds of a shootout before prevailing with a 4-3 win at Tampa Bay to keep their winning streak intact.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (8-3-0): The unit of Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller and Michael Grabner continue to light up the scoreboard for New York, combining for 29 points on the season and seven in the win over Edmonton. Miller and Hayes are Nos. 1-2 on the team in scoring with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Grabner is tied for the team lead with six goals in his first season with the Rangers. "Ever since that line was put together they've probably been our most productive line," New York coach Alain Vigneault said.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (6-4-0): Goaltender Tuukka Rask missed the earlier matchup against the Rangers, sitting out his third straight game with an injury while his beleaguered backups surrendered 14 goals. Rask returned in time to blank the Red Wings and has been in net for each of the last three victories to improve to 6-0-0 with a 1.48 goals-against average. "We're getting good goaltending, and we're getting better as a team," coach Claude Julien said. "I think we're playing harder and we're playing smarter."
OVERTIME
1. G Antti Raanta, who has won both his starts this season, will get the nod versus the Bruins.
2. Bruins F Brad Marchand tops the team with 12 points, but he has only three goals in 22 games versus the Rangers.
3. Boston has won four in a row and five of the last six at home against New York.