Boston Bruins VS New York Rangers: Confidence VS Consistency

Mar 2, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Boston Bruins center

(37) and New York Rangers center

(10) during a face off during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Rangers are fresh off of a 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders Tuesday night, but don’t let that mislead you. The game comes as the teams’ second loss in 15 games, winning 5-straight prior to Tuesday. They are also coming off of an incredible California road trip that sent them home with a clean slate after winning against some of the hardest teams in the National Hockey League.

Much like the Boston Bruins, the New York Rangers had a slow start to the season and a lot of inconsistencies.  Due to varying injuries coach Alain VIgneault had to do some experimenting with lines and defensive pairings, experiments that led to success.  Since mixing and matching the team has finally been able to build confidence and work together as a whole unit. They are in the process of making a stellar comeback and placing themselves in playoff spot contention with their offense and defense performing at ‘full speed ahead.’

Key Players:

Rick Nash and Derick Brassard are names that should automatically be on the Boston Bruins radar.  Rick Nash, recently named as an alternate captain to the All-Star Game (New York’s only representative), currently leads the Rangers in scoring with 26 goals on the season and a total of 41 points. Nash is a dynamic player that knows how to protect the puck and get the puck where it needs to go.

Derick Brassard and Rick Nash have gone hand-in-hand all season long as far as points and scoring go.  In Tuesday night’s game both players rang the same post exactly one second apart. What are the chances of that? But in all seriousness, Brassard currently ranks second on the team in points and leads the team in assists with 22. While his shots may be going off the post, he’s generating he right kind of plays for his teammates to get the necessary rebounds.

Injury Report:

Derek Stepan was the recipient of a slash to the right hand Tuesday night and left the game in the first period. While he is listed as day-to-day for the Rangers, it is unlikely that he will play in tonight’s game.  The injury could put a hinder on an otherwise top performing Rangers team as Stepan ranks fourth overall on the team with 27 points (6 Goals, 2 assists).

Between the Pipes:

Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be the netminder between the pipes for New York.  He currently sports a 20-8-3 record, 2.26 goals against average and .918 save percentage.  While he may be one of the most solid and elite netminders in the League, the Boston Bruins have been able to find ways in recent years to get behind him and hurt him where it matters most, on the scoreboard.

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