New York Rangers Travel to Boston – Pregame Checklist

               After a disappointing third period against the Ottawa Senators which saw the Rangers blow a 3-2 lead in the third period, the Blueshirts are in Boston for a tough game with the league leading Bruins (1:00 on ABC).

Rangers vs Bruins

• Patrick Kane made his Rangers debut against Ottawa on Thursday. Kane was held pointless in his debut. The other big acquisition Vladimir Tarasenko continued his hot play with a silky- smooth breakaway goal
• Tyler Motte left the game with an upper-body injury and didn’t return after receiving an elbow to the head by Austin Watson. Watson was given a five-minute major and game misconduct, but player safety decided not to discipline Watson
• The Rangers will shift their attention to Boston where they’ll look to avoid being swept this season by the dominant Bruins
• Boston is 25-2-3 on home ice this season. Boston is currently on a nine-game winnings streak
• David Pastrnak recently signed an eight-year extension with the Bruins worth 90-million dollars. Pastrnak has 43 goals and 40 assists in 61 games played this season
• Currently, Boston plays with Pastrnak split up from Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Jake DeBrusk is with that duo, while Pastrnak is on a line with fellow Czech natives; David Krejci and Pavel Zacha
• Linus Ullmark is expected to start for Boston on Saturday afternoon. Ullmark is 31-4-1 on the season with a .938 save percentage. Ullmark scored an empty net goal against the Vancouver Canucks on February 25^th
• The Blueshirts will be short two players as they look to slay the beast. Ryan Lindgren continues to be out with a day-to-day injury while Motte is out with an upper-body injury
• K’Andre Miller will serve the final of his three-game suspension after accidentally spitting on Drew Doughty
• It is expected the Blueshirts will stick with the same lines against Boston to start. Kane replaced Tarasenko on the top power-play while Lafreniere and Kakko rotated on the second power-play
• Igor Shesterkin will get the start for the Bruins. Shesterkin has been more like himself in recent previous games and he will need his A+ game if the Rangers are to stand any chance against Boston
• The key for the Blueshirts will be overall team defense including staying out of the penalty box. Boston takes advantage of any opportunity you give them and failing to do basics like not covering guys in front of the net or taking offensive zone penalties would be a killer for the Rangers

Projected Lineup

Kreider-Zibanejad-Tarasenko

Panarin-Trocheck-Kane

Lafreniere-Chytil-Kakko

Vesey-Goodrow

Mikkola-Fox

Harpur-Trouba

Schneider

Shesterkin