The last time we checked in on the New York Rangers, they were maintaining a slim lead on the Bruins for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Today, the story is a little bit different.

The Rangers are seven points clear of Boston as they head to TD Garden for a Valentine's Day love-fest with the Bruins, and while New York has been cruising of late, Boston hasn't been able to put consecutive strong performances together - it's not been 33 days since the Black and Gold won consecutive games.

With love in the air, it's hard to imagine that there's going to be a whole lot of sentimentality on the ice between two teams who play traditionally strong, physical, shut-down games.

While New York's only other encounter with Boston this season saw the Rangers skate away with a 3-2 overtime victory with just seconds remaining in the extra frame, both teams knew that they had opportunities they should have converted on.

Whichever team is able to make those conversions tonight will likely escape with two points.

Expect Tuukka Rask for the Bruins and Henrik Lundqvist in net for the Blueshirts tonight, as New York looks to build an insurmountable lead in the conference and cruise to the first overall seed.