Bruins/Rangers Regular Season Finale

This will be the 11th game for the Boston Bruins this season, but it’s the third and final meeting against the New York Rangers. The past two games have had the home team taking the dub, and tonight the Rangers will be making the trip to Boston.

Both teams have been early favored to make it to the playoffs but so far it’s been the B’s that have been playing like it. The B’s have lived up to the hype with only two losses in 10 games- one being in regulation. New York, on the other hand, is off to a 6-5 start. The teams won’t see each other again unless they happen to find themselves in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Will Brad Marchand continue to lead the B’s in scoring? (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Can the Bruins be beat?
Well judging by their stats thus far, the answer would be no.  However one of the losses this season was from the Rangers in overtime so they can’t be counted out. The Bruins right now have two hot goaltenders (Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin) and are getting ready for a February roadie. 8 out of 10 games this month will be on the road for Boston with a  five-gave trip starting Friday. However tonight they play at home and as we know that’s typically a good thing for the Bruins.

Three in a row for the Rangers?
The Rangers are coming off of wins against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders and are looking to make Boston their next victim. As of right now this is the first time the team is over a .500 win record. Their problem was the reliance on the big three of the team aka Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards, and Rick Nash. However, 10 of their last 13 goals have been scored by other players on the team.

Who’s hot?
Brad Marchand leads the Bruins in goals with 6 and scored on Sunday against Buffalo after coming back from an injury. Though the B’s power play is anything but “hot” typically, Patrice Bergeron managed to score Boston’s 2nd PP goal of the season Sunday. For the Ranger, obviously their hottest player (literally and figuratively) is goalie Henrik Lundqvist. In his last two starts, Lundqvist has only allowed a single goal in each. Also, Carl Hagelin was huge for NY against the Lightning on Sunday notting two goals, and adding an assist.

Tonight the game will be aired on NESN and the puck will drop at 7:30!

For the Rangers side of things, check out Black and Blueshirts.

 

Bruins Beast the Rangers

It was Tuukka time in Boston tonight! (Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight your Boston Bruins took to the ice for the home opener of the 2012-2013 season against the New York Rangers and it was everything you could hope for in a home opener and so much more.

The B’s for the most part stuck to a similar lineup as last season but tonight brought the debut of Boston native/ Ray Bourque’s pride and joy Chris Bourque. Tonight was also the first time that the B’s first round draft pick of 2011 Dougie Hamilton would play in the NHL. Tuukka Rask is now the starting goalie for the Bruins and he faced off against Henrik Lundqvist, a man who doesn’t exactly let up against the Bruins or against any team in general.

Tonight was an exception as the Bruins beat the Rangers 3-1.

Let me break down the game by period for you.