Rangers will welcome fans back to Madison Square Garden for the first time since March 7th, 2020 where they will host the Boston Bruins (7:00 P.M. ET, MSG).
| Rangers | East Division Ranks /8 | Bruins |
| 6-8-3 | Record | 11-4-2 |
| 7th | East Ranking | 1st |
| 7th | GF/PG | 3rd |
| 3rd | GA/PG | 2nd |
| 8th | PP% | 3rd |
| 2nd | PK% | 1st |
It’s been so long since Blueshirts fans have been able to get to cheer on their favorite team in person but that day has finally arrived. The last time fans got to see the Rangers live was on March 7th, 2020 where they were defeated by the New Jersey Devils. This is an exciting time for all as it signals that we are all starting to resume our normal lives and we can see light at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s pretty special,” said defenseman Adam Fox. “It’s definitely been a long time and we miss the fans at the Garden. We’re definitely excited to have them there.”
Rangers will hope the limited capacity can bring them some momentum as they will host the division-leading Boston Bruins. The Bruins are coming off a 7-2 defeat on Thursday night against the Islanders. But they will be feeling confident having won both meetings against the Rangers thus far. Fans attending the game will not be quite sure of the exact lineup they will be seeing.
Filip Chytil returned to practice but is not in game shape and won’t be available. Artemi Panarin is also not an option after he took a leave of absence. Birthday boy Jacob Trouba has a broken thumb and is on the sidelines. Head coach David Quinn did state that the lineup is “pending” when he spoke with the media on Friday morning. With Quinn confirming there will not be any call-ups from the AHL, that would indicate that he hopes to get Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, or both off the COVID-19 protocol.
The Rangers played the Bruins once this year without Panarin and were held scoreless in a 1-0 defeat. The good news for the Blueshirts is that their top-six looked lively against the Flyers on Wednesday night. Chris Kreider recorded a hat trick and Mika Zibanejad had two assists. They’ll need their top players to keep making key contributions to the lineup – especially with a lot of “skilled” players unavailable.
One key thing the Rangers did well in the first two games against the Bruins was limiting the “Perfection Line” consisting of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak. A line widely considered the best in hockey registered no points in regulation between both games. Boston will need this line to lead the way as they will be without key players including David Krejci, Ondrej Kase, Kevan Miller, Jeremy Lauzon, and Matt Grzelcyk.
Tuukka Rask will get the start for the Bruins. Rask was victorious against the Rangers in the first meeting of the season and he is 7-2-1 on the season.
The Blueshirts will turn to Alex Georgiev who has been solid over his past two starts. Georgiev was solid in an overtime defeat to the Bruins and he was victorious in a shootout win over the Flyers. Georgiev has stopped 49 of the past 54 shots he’s faced.
Projected Lineup
Lafreniere-Zibanejad-Buchnevich
Kreider-Strome-Blackwell
Lemieux-Howden-Gauthier
Di Giuseppe-Rooney-Brodzinski
Lindgren-Fox
Johnson-Smith
Hajek-Bitetto
Georgiev
