BRUINS GDT GAME 40 7:08 PM - THE BEAR invades Manhattan - NESN, ESPN+, SNE, SNP, 98.5 WBZ-FM

[Fenway]

Tonight's Officials

Referees Michael Markovic (31), Frederick L'Ecuyer (17)
Linespersons Mark Shewchyk (92), Dan Kelly (98)

TONIGHT’S GAME- The Bruins visit the Rangers tonight in the first of three games between these teams this season and the first of two Boston visits to Madison Square Garden this year ... The Bruins are 20-15-4 overall this season with an 8-9-2 record on the road.- The Bruins are playing the fifth of ten sets of three-games-in-four nights this season ... They are 2-2-0 in the first games, 4-0-0 in the second games and are 2-2-0 in the third games so far.- The Bruins will open 2025 with games at NY Rangers tonight and in Toronto on Jan. 4 ... They will then face home games vs. NY Islanders on Jan. 5 and vs. Edmonton on Jan. 7.
MILESTONES APPROACHING- Charlie McAvoy is seven games short of his 500 NHL games.- Charlie McAvoy is seven points short of his 300th NHL point.- Pavel Zacha is seven assists shy of his 200th NHL assist.

INJURIES- Hampus Lindholm: Lower body (IR)

BOSTON vs. NEW YORK, LIFETIME SERIES- The Bruins and Rangers are meeting for the 670th time in their histories with Boston holding a 305-254-97-13 record and a2,098-1,942 scoring advantage in those games.- The Bruins are 129-147-55-5 in New York with the Rangers having a 1,022-941 scoring edge in those 336 road games.


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Boston Bruins (20-15-4, in the Atlantic Division) vs. New York Rangers (16-19-1, in the Metropolitan Division)

New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Rangers will try to break their four-game slide when they play the Boston Bruins.

New York has gone 7-9-1 in home games and 16-19-1 overall. The Rangers rank 10th in the league serving 9.6 penalty minutes per game.

Boston is 20-15-4 overall and 8-9-2 on the road. The Bruins have committed 170 total penalties (4.4 per game) to rank first in NHL play.

Thursday's game is the first time these teams match up this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Will Cuylle has scored 11 goals with 13 assists for the Rangers. Vincent Trocheck has two goals and four assists over the past 10 games.

Brad Marchand has 15 goals and 16 assists for the Bruins. David Pastrnak has four goals and six assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 2-8-0, averaging 1.6 goals, 2.4 assists, 4.6 penalties and 12 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.

Bruins: 5-4-1, averaging 2.7 goals, 3.9 assists, 3.7 penalties and 11.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game.

Click to read more...

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Must win. Yeah not in terms of the standings, yeah the Rangers will be beyond desperate. But when almost every other team of any quality has been piling the misery onto these guys, it would be a real shame if the Bruins couldn't do likewise and they let slip a golden opportunity to pour some more pain on an old rival.

The Rags are a mess in a world of hurt. If Boston wants to be taken seriously this is the kind of game where they should go in and take care of business. All the more so after losing to the Caps. Turn that around, put in a solid effort here, take charge and get back on the winner's list.

Too much to ask? Hopefully not!

 

[Maine Fan]

The Bruins must start winning games consistently in order to male the playoffs.

As of now, my prediction is that they will not make the playoffs without an improvement in play.

Go Bruins

 

[Aeroforce]

I watched the Rangers vs. Panthers a few days ago; and despite all the losses, the Rangers weren't pushovers. Zibanajad has been demoted off PP1, and they traded Kakko, a high draft pick. They also have some youth on the blue line with Trouba gone.

This is by no means an easy game, despite the standings.

 

[quietbruinfan]

The Rangers have much more talent but aren't playing much of a system 5v5. I didn't watch the last Bruin game. I just recently watched the highlights and there was not much to see..... This game, I am going to watch a good chunk of it at least. The bookie in me, says the desperate Rangers win by a couple based on superior talent through their lineup.

However, the Bruin fan in me is hoping for the best. I hope the Rangers continue to be slow backchecking, disorganized and apathetic while one of the Bruin forwards has a hot game and they win 3-2.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

The Bruins must start winning games consistently in order to male the playoffs.

As of now, my prediction is that they will not make the playoffs without an improvement in play.

Go Bruins

The East is so wishy-washy this year that the Bruins can probably make the playoffs even without really starting to string a lot of wins together. Most teams are battling for consistency. But if they want to make the playoffs in any sort of shape to actually contend and contemplate a deep run, then yeah absolutely, they have a lot of work to do. They're in a better place than they were a month ago, but still a long way to go. Let's see what they can produce in this one.

 

[caz16]

The Bruins always seem to be slow off the mark after any type of holiday or break, so I'm hoping they will be ready to play. It will be interesting to see if Sacco's idea of taking them to NYC for a practice will work, maybe it kept them out of that sleepy holiday mode.

Hoping to start the new year with a nice win!

 

[Fenway]

Thursday, January 2 (Madison Square Garden | New York, NY)

• Morning skate, 11:00 a.m.
• Interim Head Coach Joe Sacco and select players available to media following morning skate
• Game vs. New York Rangers, 7 p.m. (TV: NESN | Radio: 98.5)
• Interim Head Coach Joe Sacco and select players available to media following the game
• Travel to Toronto

 

[BMC]

Note to the Bruins: Do.not.play.down.to.the.level.of.your.opponent.
The Rangers are a dumpster fire but they are a dumpster fire with much more talent. Play accordingly.

 

[Therewolf31]

The Bruins must start winning games consistently in order to male the playoffs.

As of now, my prediction is that they will not make the playoffs without an improvement in play.

Go Bruins

When all the other teams make up their games, I think the B's are going to be in trouble. Tampa has played 5 less games!! Even the Habs are closing in after beating Florida, Tampa and Vegas!

 

[mjhfb]

I hear some people say that Fox is not playing great but he still has 27 assists compared to 11 for his old D partner McAvoy. The Bruins PP could use someone playing that bad.

 

[TCB]

Trap game written all over this one. Rangers played a very strong game their last one against the Panthers despite being on the losing side of things. Bruins need to bring it for a full sixty, or more than likely they’ll be heading into Toronto on a two game losing streak .

 

[Ladyfan]

The Rangers have much more talent but aren't playing much of a system 5v5. I didn't watch the last Bruin game. I just recently watched the highlights and there was not much to see..... This game, I am going to watch a good chunk of it at least. The bookie in me, says the desperate Rangers win by a couple based on superior talent through their lineup.

However, the Bruin fan in me is hoping for the best. I hope the Rangers continue to be slow backchecking, disorganized and apathetic while one of the Bruin forwards has a hot game and they win 3-2.

I love seeing this positive attitude!

I don't know what to expect tonight but want a Bs win.

 

[smithformeragent]

The East is so wishy-washy this year that the Bruins can probably make the playoffs even without really starting to string a lot of wins together. Most teams are battling for consistency. But if they want to make the playoffs in any sort of shape to actually contend and contemplate a deep run, then yeah absolutely, they have a lot of work to do. They're in a better place than they were a month ago, but still a long way to go. Let's see what they can produce in this one.

Yep.

They're on pace for 92 points, which probably gets them in.

I cannot see the likes of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or Columbus making a run, so you're probably looking at 5 clubs from the Atlantic and 3 from the Metro.

And as much as the Bruins look like pretenders, the rest of the Eastern Conference doesn't really knock your socks off either.

It all sets up for Florida to make a deep run again, IMO, but you never know. Playing deep into June back to back seasons can sometimes drain you as well.

 

[TD Charlie]

Yep.

They're on pace for 92 points, which probably gets them in.

I cannot see the likes of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or Columbus making a run, so you're probably looking at 5 clubs from the Atlantic and 3 from the Metro.

And as much as the Bruins look like pretenders, the rest of the Eastern Conference doesn't really knock your socks off either.

It all sets up for Florida to make a deep run again, IMO, but you never know. Playing deep into June back to back seasons can sometimes drain you as well.

Just show up to the dance

Shit happens. Guys get hurt. Goalies get hot. Rosters suddenly grow spines.

Just gotta make it to the dance to see how it’s gonna go

 

[Terrier]

Here’s how the Bruins had a ‘throwback Wednesday’ on offday before game against Rangers - The Boston Globe

Team captain Brad Marchand noted that the trip to the Chelsea Piers rink “added a different element to the day” that everyone enjoyed.

www.bostonglobe.com

Boston Sports Journal

Boston's fast-growing, fully-credentialed, flying-everywhere collection of professional journalists covering Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and more…

www.bostonsportsjournal.com

 

[ae530]

Bruins have played a lot of games. Teams below them win most of their games in hand will have Boston in 5th or 6th place sadly

 

[Ladyfan]

Bruins have played a lot of games. Teams below them win most of their games in hand will have Boston in 5th or 6th place sadly

maybe....Let's just wait and see

 

[JCRO]

Bs havent beat the Rags since March 2023.

Time to exorcise* some demons.

LFG Bs.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

We usually play well when I expect a loss as I'm expecting the Rags to miraculously fix their problems today.

 

[wintersej]

Bruins have played a lot of games. Teams below them win most of their games in hand will have Boston in 5th or 6th place sadly

Tampa has a better points % with fewer games and Ottawa has a worse points % but fewer games but could get ahead of Boston if they win their games in hand.

6th place though... well that belongs to Montreal and your math falls apart there.

When it comes down to it, the Bruins have the best record in the east since Monty was fired. They can't score. Both special teams aren't very good. The goaltending is inconsistent. But they play good D and win close games.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

We usually play well when I expect a loss as I'm expecting the Rags to miraculously fix their problems today.

Hopefully DS can take a brake from the 4 nations GMing and work a deal with his counterpart before leaving N.Y.

 

[bruins19]

Must win. Yeah not in terms of the standings, yeah the Rangers will be beyond desperate. But when almost every other team of any quality has been piling the misery onto these guys, it would be a real shame if the Bruins couldn't do likewise and they let slip a golden opportunity to pour some more pain on an old rival.

The Rags are a mess in a world of hurt. If Boston wants to be taken seriously this is the kind of game where they should go in and take care of business. All the more so after losing to the Caps. Turn that around, put in a solid effort here, take charge and get back on the winner's list.

Too much to ask? Hopefully not!

Great post.

Bs havent beat the Rags since March 2023.

Time to exercise some demons.

LFG Bs.

Exorcise would remove the demons. Exercise would just give them a workout.

 

[Sheppy]

We usually play well when I expect a loss as I'm expecting the Rags to miraculously fix their problems today.

100% lol

 

[Dr Hook]

We usually play well when I expect a loss as I'm expecting the Rags to miraculously fix their problems today.

Maybe they have an AHL goalie that will get an emergency start and end up looking like a Vezina winner.