For the first time in the history of the known world, it's snowing in Boston in winter. I know, I'm as surprised as you are.
But more importantly, the Rangers-Bruins rivalry that NBC, NESN and MSG would really like to shove down our throats this spring is finally getting renewed today as Boston and New York battle for first place in the Eastern Conference.
Somehow, the Bruins have gone 44 games and are yet to play the Rangers, who they'll see once in each of the next four months.
After a slow start overseas and a slower start upon their return to the Western Hemisphere, the Rangers have been surging since the calendar turned to November, climbing all the way to the top of the Eastern Conference, just one point ahead of Boston, which has a game in hand on the Rangers.
New York is paced by Marian Gaborik, who has 23 goals and 37 points on the season, along with Captain Ryan Callahan (15-17=32) and marquee offseason pickup Brad Richard, who, despite his 15 goals and 16 assists, is next-to-last on the team with a minus-3 rating.
But the real reason for their success has undoubtedly been the play of Henrik Lundqvist, who has a 1.93 goals against average and a .936 save percentage in 34 games this season.
Lundqvist may meet his foil in Tuukka Rask today, however. Rask, who leads the league with a 1.61 goals against and .946 save percentage.
The Bruins come into the matinee looking to continue the third-period success they had against New Jersey on Thursday evening, scoring four unanswered goals en route to a come-from-behind 4-1 win over the Devils. The rest of their four-game road trip was mostly forgettable, as Boston escaped with four points from four games in mostly demoralizing efforts against inferior opposition in Carolina and Tampa Bay.
Here's how the Bruins should look today:
Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Tyler Seguin
Rich Peverley - Chris Kelly - Benoit Pouliot
Shawn Thornton - Gregory Campbell - Daniel Paille
Zdeno Chara - Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg - Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference - Adam McQuaid
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas