Preview: Bruins close out season series against Rangers

Just the facts

When: Today, 1:00 PM

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA

How to follow: ABC, ESPN+, SN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Blueshirt Banter

Know your enemy

• 35-18-9, 79PTS, 3^rd in Metropolitan Division
• Artemi Panarin: 62GP, 19G, 50A, 69PTS; Mika Zibanejad: 62GP, 32G, 35A, 67PTS; Adam Fox: 62GP, 10G, 47A, 57PTS
• Igor Shesterkin: 27-10-7, 2.63 GAA, .910 save percentage; Jaroslav Halak: 8-8-2, 2.80 GAA, .900 save percentage

Game notes

• The Boston Bruins will continue to try to set records and whatnot this afternoon against the New York Rangers at the TD Garden because that’s just what they do now every game.
• The Bruins became the fastest team to reach 100 points in NHL history when they beat the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. They currently have 101 points and a 17-point separation over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division and are 15 ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference.
• That win continue their longest win streak of the season which currently stands at nine games. They’ve had two separate streaks at seven wins earlier in the season.
• This is the final meeting between the Bruins and Rangers this season. The Bruins are 2-0-0 against them with a 5-2 win on Nov. 3, 2022 and a 3-1 win on Jan. 19. Eight different Bruins have scored on the Rangers this season.
• But it’s the first time the Bruins will play against the Rangers with Patrick Kane on their roster. Kane made his Rangers’ debut on Thursday in New York’s 5-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators. Prior to the trade, he had seven goals and three assists in four games with the Chicago Blackhawks.
• The Rangers are 2-3-0 in their last five games, but are still sitting at the third seed in the Metropolitan Division with eight points ahead of Pittsburgh who’s the first wild card. The Bruins will have to watch out for Zibanejad who is on a four-game point streak with two goals and five assists.
• Dmitry Orlov will look to continue his impression start to his time with the Bruins. In only four games with the Bruins, he has three goals and five assists – and he’s averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. He’s on a three-game point streak.
• There’s a chance we’ll see the newest Bruin, Tyler Bertuzzi, in today’s game. Bertuzzi arrived in Boston On Thursday and skated for the first time with the team yesterday. He registered 14 points with the Detroit Red Wings this season – with nine of those in February.
• Brad Marchand is good for today’s game. He spoke with reporters after yesterday’s practice and said he had banged up his knee on Thursday. It was precautionary to sit him out since the team was in a good position heading into the third period.
• Trade crunch: The Rangers acquired Anton Blidh from the Colorado Avalanche and Wyatt Kalynuk from the Vancouver Canucks.
• See ya soon!