With a win tonight against the Boston Bruins, the Rangers will enter the all-star break on a three-game winning streak (7:00 P.M. ET, MSG).
The Blueshirts are coming off a convincing win against the Chicago Blackhawks. After falling behind early, the Rangers responded with three unanswered goals courtesy of Filip Chytil, Mats Zuccarello and Chris Kreider. Alex DeBrincat would make the game a one goal contest, early in the third period but the Rangers handled everything the Blackhawks threw at them. The Rangers tacked on an empty net goal and Chicago got a goal with just a second left, ending the game 4-3. Henrik Lundqvist registered 24 saves and he is now tied for sixth on the all-time wins list.
“It’s an honor to be up there,” Lundqvist said. Lundqvist tied Terry Sawchuk with his 445th career win.
Tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins will be a special game for many Rangers. Many Ranger players have a lot of connections to the city of Boston.
Chris Kreider went to school at Boston College
Jimmy Vesey went to school at Harvard
Kevin Hayes (who won’t play tonight) was born in Boston and went to school at Boston College
Kevin Shattenkirk went to school at Boston University.
Ryan Lindgren was traded from the Boston Bruins in the Rick Nash trade
“It’ll be pretty cool to go into that building and be wearing a Ranger jersey and playing against them,” Lindgren said.
However, this game will be even more special to Adam McQuaid. The Rangers acquired McQuaid in an offseason trade with the Bruins. McQuaid spent nine-seasons as a member of the Bruins and he won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011.
“There’s a lot that he meant to this group,” said Bruins defenseman Kevin Miller. “First and foremost, a great guy, a great person, a great teammate. He had some success here – a Stanley Cup champion. He’s a really close friend of mine and it’ll be good to have him back.”
While the players are excited for this game, so is head coach David Quinn who is making a return of his own. Quinn will be coaching in Boston for the first time as an NHL coach and for the first time since stepping down as the Boston University head coach to become the Blueshirts head coach. Quinn played three seasons as a Terrier, came back as an assistant head coach of the Terriers for five years and he was the head coach of the Terriers since 2013 before his arrival to New York.
“For me personally, going to school there and coaching in Boston, coaching so many games at (TD) Garden, it’ll definitely mean a lot more to me,” Quinn said. “There’s an awful lot that went on in that building for me personally.”
Quinn’s teams held a record of 10-7 at TD Garden including a Beanpot championship in 2015.
“It’s a rink where we played some big games and also the place where we lost a crushing game that I’ll never get over,” Quinn said. Quinn’s Terriers suffered a 4-3 loss to Providence in the 2015 NCAA title game.
Charlie McAvoy, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Matt Grzelcyk are current Bruins who were coached by Quinn during his time at Boston University.
It’ll be a little strange to have three of them over on the other team,” Quinn said. “But once the puck drops you don’t really pay attention to it.”
“Quinnie, I had him for two years, two of the best years of growth and development that I had as a person and a player,” said McAvoy. “He really molded me pretty well, allowed me to grow up while I was at school there, taught me a lot life lessons on the ice.”
Quinn made it clear that why it will be a special moment for him and his team, that he means business. “We’re going there to win a hockey game,” Quinn said.
Defeating the Bruins will be no easy task as they seek a Stanley Cup run. The Bruins sit third in the Atlantic and contain one of the best lines in the NHL consisting of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. The Rangers defense will have to limit their top line if they want to maximize their chances of winning.
Tuukka Rask will start for the Bruins. Rask holds a 2.42 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. Rask struggled early in the season and yielded starts to backup Jaroslav Halak, but he has since played better hockey and has reclaimed the starting job. Rask is currently riding a seven-game point streak with a 6-0-1 record.
After tonight, the Rangers will go on their bye week and that is followed by the all-star break. With a lot of time without a game, the Rangers sent down Alex Georgiev to play some valuable games in Hartford. With Georgiev in the AHL, Henrik Lundqvist will start and look for career win 446. Lundqvist will be the Ranger’s representative in San Jose for the all-star game.
The Rangers are expected to stick with the same lineup they’ve won with in the past two games. Kevin Hayes and Neal Pionk are expected to return following the all-star break.
Projected lineup:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Zuccarello
Chytil-Strome-Fast
Vesey-Howden-Namestnikov
McLeod-Nieves-Buchnevich
Skjei-McQuaid
Staal-DeAngelo
Lindgren – Shattenkirk
Lundqvist
