The 2026-27 NHL regular season officially arrives on Tuesday night, and the New York Rangers find themselves in a primetime spotlight with an Original Six showdown against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
A wild 2025-26 season series
The Rangers won two of three meetings against the Bruins last season, taking one game at Madison Square Garden and the other on the road in Boston.
The first contest was a dominant 6-2 victory at TD Garden on November 28, 2025—a Thanksgiving feast for the Blueshirts. However, the next meeting saw New York get a harsh taste of its own medicine, with the Bruins hanging an astonishing 10 goals on the Rangers in a lopsided blowout.
The rubber match of the season series was a tight, hard-fought battle that went to extra time, resulting in a 4-3 overtime victory for New York, highlighted by Matthew Robertson scoring his first career NHL goal for the game-winner.
From that point on, their paths diverged sharply. Boston finished fourth in the Atlantic Division and advanced to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, eventually falling in six games to their divisional rivals, the Buffalo Sabres. The Rangers, meanwhile, spent April through June watching from home.
Looking to climb out of the division basement
Now, a new season begins, and the Rangers have plenty of ground to make up. New York finished dead last in the Metropolitan Division in 2025-26, ending the year 10 points behind their cross-river rivals, the New Jersey Devils.
The Bruins finished with 100 points even compared to New York’s 77. Boston was the 10th-best scoring team in the league last season, averaging roughly three goals per game on their way to scoring 268 total goals. Defensively, the Bruins allowed 244 goals (2.98 per game) to rank 14th in the NHL, resulting in a +24 goal differential that ranked 13th overall. Boston was also lethal when generating chances: their 12% shooting percentage ranked sixth across the entire league.
The Rangers were a considerably lower-scoring squad. New York totaled just 223 goals (2.72 per game), which slotted them 23rd in the NHL. On the defensive side, they allowed 246 goals (exactly 3.00 per game) to rank 15th, right alongside Boston. New York's 11.5% shooting percentage ranked 12th in the league. Interestingly, neither the Rangers nor the Bruins registered a single shutout performance during the entire 82-game campaign.
Team leaders and scoring transitions
In terms of individual performance, the Rangers' top goal scorer was 32-year-old Mika Zibanejad, who led the club with 34 goals, 44 assists, and 78 points in 78 games. That was 21 points clear of 24-year-old Alexis Lafrenière, who registered 24 goals and 33 assists for 57 points.
Former Rangers winger Artemi Panarin also matched that 57-point total, though a portion of that production came after he was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympic break.
Goaltending matchup: Igor Shesterkin vs. Jeremy Swayman
Between the pipes, Igor Shesterkin carried a heavy load, compiling a 25-19-6 record in 51 games. Despite playing behind an erratic defensive structure, Shesterkin maintained a .911 save percentage (ranking sixth in the NHL) and a 2.50 goals-against average. He split time with veteran Jonathan Quick, who struggled through a difficult final season before retiring, posting a 6-17-2 record, a 3.09 GAA, and an .891 save percentage across 26 appearances.
At the other end of the rink, Boston's Jeremy Swayman excelled as the primary starter with a 31-18-4 record in 55 games, posting a 2.71 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Swayman split the workload with 32-year-old Joonas Korpisalo, who posted a 14-9-6 record with a 3.15 GAA and an .894 save percentage in 31 contests for Boston. Now serving as Shesterkin’s backup after an offseason trade, Korpisalo will be watching from the visiting bench against his former team.
Projected lineup features clean injury report
Neither team reported any major injuries heading into the opener. While official line combinations will be finalized following Tuesday's morning skate, the Rangers are expected to roll out the units deployed in their final preseason rehearsals.
Up front, Zibanejad centers Lafrenière and dynamic young winger Gabe Perreault on the top line. Veteran captain J.T. Miller centers the second unit, flanked by newcomers Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand. The bottom six features Will Cuylle, Noah Laba, and Eeli Tolvanen, with a physical fourth line driven by Tye Kartye, Joe Veleno, and 6'9" forward Matt Rempe.
On the blue line, 30-year-old veteran Vladislav Gavrikov skates alongside star defenseman Adam Fox on the top pair. The brand-new second pairing features summer acquisitions Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi, who arrived from Vancouver and Utah respectively. On the third pair, 18-year-old rookie Alberts Smits will make his historic NHL debut skating alongside Braden Schneider.
Rangers expected lines
Gabe Perreault — Mika Zibanejad — Alexis Lafrenière
Pavel Dorofeyev — J.T. Miller — Oliver Bjorkstrand
Will Cuylle — Noah Laba — Eeli Tolvanen
Tye Kartye — Joe Veleno — Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Marcus Pettersson — Sean Durzi
Alberts Smits — Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Joonas Korpisalo
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