PREVIEW

Just the Facts

Who: The Boston Bruins (46-21-9, 101 pts, 2nd in Atlantic) host the New York Rangers (29-33-13, 71 pts, 7th in Metro)

What: Boston has to get back to their winning ways to fend off Toronto for home-ice advantage in the first round. The Rangers are a good opportunity to do that.

When: 7:30 PM ET

Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA

How to watch: NBCSN. AND NOTHING ELSE.

Rival SBN site: BlueShirt Banter

Know Your Enemy

Team Leaders

Mika Zibanejad gets all the points. (28G-40A-68PTS)

Game Notes

• Just when you thought the Bruins were going to get healthier, Marcus Johansson got pulled out from under us and then John Moore went down hard. There’s still hope that we get MoJo, as well as Torey Krug, sooner rather than later - but nothing definite until game time.
• Will the next defenseman please stand up? If Krug isn’t ready to go, who gets called up today to play in Moore’s place? Urho Vaakanainen is injured; can Bruce Cassidy still skate?
• The Rangers are coming off a 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Monday, though they were able to steal an OT win over Toronto on the weekend. It gets repeated every year, but sometimes the teams with nothing to lose are just as tough as those still vying for playoff position. It’s especially important for Boston because home-ice advantage is at stake.
• The Rangers are dealing with their own injury issues, for sure: forwards Chris Kreider is day-to-day and Marc Staal is nearing a return, but it’s unclear if he travels with the team to Boston.