Causeway Crowd
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Boston Bruins in a New York (Rangers) State of Mind tonight

By Chad Zimmermann

BOSTON, MA -DECEMBER 16: Boston Bruins Left Wing Brad Marchand (63) tries to get the puck past New York Rangers Goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30). During the Boston Bruins game against the New York Rangers on December 16, 2017 at TD Bank Garden in Boston, MA. (Photo by Michael Tureski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA -DECEMBER 16: Boston Bruins Left Wing Brad Marchand (63) tries to get the puck past New York Rangers Goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30). During the Boston Bruins game against the New York Rangers on December 16, 2017 at TD Bank Garden in Boston, MA. (Photo by Michael Tureski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Boston Bruins will get an offensive boost tonight when a team star returns, but even without him, this team has been clicking.  What’s waiting for them on Broadway?

I think it’s fair to say that the team that rocks on Causeway is much better this year than the team that high steps on Broadway.  The Boston Bruins are trending up in the standings, while the New York Rangers are in a bit of a free fall.  There probably aren’t two teams heading in more opposite directions than these two.

Boston Bruins
DETROIT, MI – FEBRUARY 06: Torey Krug /

The Bruins (32-11-8, 72 points), coming off a nice win in Detroit, have been on their incredible run since mid-December, and now only sit 3 points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the lead in the Conference, with 2 games in hand.  The Rangers (25-23-5, 55 points) on the other hand are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games and are currently on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.

The Rangers have made no secret that they plan to be sellers at the trade deadline, and appear to be packing it in for the season.  The most recent news from New York is that the team has asked Rick Nash for his team list based upon his movement clause.  Not sure if the Bruins could afford him or what they’d have to give up, but he would certainly be quite an addition to the team.  But then again, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

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Schedule

Tonight’s game marks the back-end of a back-to-back for their Bruins, their first back-to-back of the week.  The game has been selected by NBC Sports Network to be their Wednesday night rivalry game.  So tune your dials to NBCSN at 8:00 pm to find this tilt at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.  For radio listeners, you can still listen at 98.5 The Sports Hub.

What to watch for

I alluded to it in my intro, but Brad Marchand returns from his five game suspension tonight.  I did a piece earlier about the bromance between Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.  However, during Marchand’s absence, Bergeron didn’t miss a beat.  With rookie winger Danton Heinen taking Marchand’s place, Bergeron had 4 points (2-2), and the Bruins went 4-1-0.  The duo typically have a pretty symbiotic relationship, so expect to see some energy on that first line tonight.

There was talk earlier this season that Anton Khudobin should take over for Tuukka Rask when he was struggling.  Ever since head coach Bruce Cassidy put that notion to bed by starting Rask against the league leading Tampa Bay Lightning in November, Rask has collected points in 21 straight starts.  However, Khudobin in the same time is 3-3-3 in his last 9 starts.

Next: Boston Bruins Week 18: Bergeron for Hart Trophy

Even still, as I predicted, the Bruins are still on their way possibly to a Jennings Trophy.  But Khudobin’s going to have to do his part, given the very compressed scheduled for the Bruins the rest of the way.

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