It's the New York Rangers' first game of February. The coming month includes an extended break to facilitate the Four Nations faceoff, but that is a conversation for later in the month. We will discuss the upcoming matinee between the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins tonight. Two straight defeats have left the Rangers reeling after their hot start to the year, but it's early enough for the Blueshirts to get back into the win column tonight.
After the J.T Miller acquisition, the Rangers will have another decision to make with where he plays in the lineup. With Filip Chytil departing and uncertainty regarding whether Miller will play in Boston, the Rangers will be forced to play short if they have not returned their re-acquisition. They had new-look lines in practice, and they saw Arthur Kaliyev sitting on the sidelines with Jonny Brodzinski in his place. We'll see if that's the same today for this matinee.
Igor Shesterkin has been in excellent form since the turn of the year, but the Rangers losses in the last two games have both come with him in the net. While neither has been his fault, the Rangers will be looking for more out of their goaltender to steal a game. Tonight, against a playoff rival, the New York Rangers need their star netminder to be the sensational game-winner he can be.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider - J.T. Miller - Reilly Smith
Will Cuylle - Mika Zibanejad - Arthur Kaliyev
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Boston Bruins
Morgan Geekie - Pavel Zacha - David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand - Elias Lindholm - Charlie Coyle
Trent Frederic - Matthew Poitras - Justin Brazeau
Cole Koepke - John Beecher - Vinni Lettieri
Mason Lohrei - Charlie McAvoy
Michael Callahan - Brandon Carlo
Nikita Zadorov - Andrew Peeke
Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo
Puck Drop
It'll be a 3:30 start from T.D. Garden. These two original six rivals are desperate for points in a compact playoff race. If the Rangers are going to cement themselves as a playoff contender, they must take the points tonight. These two teams are fighting in their division, fighting for safety above the playoff line, and the Rangers need a result. Their recent additions will look to make an impact tonight.