Matt Poitras and Patrick Brown will slot into the lineup Saturday night with Jesper Boqvist and Jakub Lauko drawing out.
The Boston Bruins are right back in action Saturday night at TD Garden as they welcome the New York Rangers for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. The B’s are coming off a 5-4 Friday night shootout win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena and are playing in their fourth back-to-back of the season.
David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist Friday as well as the shootout winner. Morgan Geekie, James van Riemsdyk and Mason Lohrei also scored for Boston. The Bruins clawed back to tie the game three times – twice in the final 10 minutes of regulation – to force overtime.
“You can tell [Geekie’s] confidence is up. And what’s been nice is it’s two games in a row where he’s handled a lot of minutes. He’s been as good at the end of the game as early in the game,” Bruins coach Jim Montomgery said Saturday of Geekie’s heightened top-six responsibility.
“That effort and physicality and the desperation in his game I think is something we can expect.”
Linus Ullmark gave Boston a chance to win throughout the night with 33 saves. Jeremy Swayman will get the start against the Rangers as the team returns to its goalie rotation.
Dec 13, 2023; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) looks on during the first period against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY SportsThe Bruins’ lineup has been shaken up a bit due to injury. Montgomery said Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha are not available for Saturday, but he’s “very very hopeful” the two will be good to go Tuesday.
Jesper Boqvist and Jakub Lauko will draw out of the lineup for the Bruins with Patrick Brown and Matt Poitras slotting in. Brown will skate on the fourth line with Oskar Steen and Johnny Beecher, and Poitras is expected to center the third line with van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic, who would move back to the wing.
Parker Wotherspoon, who skated on the third pair with Mason Lohrei Friday in place of Ian Mitchell, remains in the lineup. The rest of the defensive core will be the same.
The Bruins and Rangers last met on Nov. 25 when Boston lost 7-4 in the middle of its three-game skid.
Nov 25, 2023; New York, New York, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) skates with the puck in front off New York Rangers left wing Jimmy Vesey (26) during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY SportsFive things to know about the Rangers:
- The Rangers are also playing back-to-back games, and beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 Friday night at Madison Square Garden. The win improved New York to a 20-7-1 record. However, after a hot start to the season, the Rangers have lost three of their last five games.
- The Rangers have the top face-off percentage in the league (55.3 percent), and have hit over the 50-percent mark at the dot in 22 of 28 games. The Bruins are 13th in the league for face-off percentage (50.7 percent).
- Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers with 41 points (16 goals, 25 assists) while skating on the second line with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere. Trocheck has also exploded with 23 points in his last 22 games as a top-six center.
- Goaltender Jonathan Quick has stood tall for New York this season, posting a 9-0-1 record. Quick made 29 saves against Anaheim on Friday and has a 2.09 goals against average and .926 save percentage. Igor Shesterkin – the Rangers’ usual starter – has a 3.02 GAA and .902 SV%.
- Chris Kreider had two goals Friday, hitting 500 career points. The winger has 24 points (16 goals, eight assists) and a team-leading eight power-play goals. Kreider is on the first power play unit with Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox.