Banter Preview: Rangers Host Mighty Bruins

After a disappointing effort and loss to the lowly Montreal Canadiens, the Rangers showed up in full force against the Columbus Blue Jackets and easily dispatched them. However, next up on the docket for the Blueshirts are the mighty Boston Bruins.

With twelve points separating them and the next-best team, the Bruins easily have the best record in the NHL this season. Hell, to be completely honest with you, the Bruins are on the verge of breaking the 18-19 Tampa Bay Lightning and 95=96 Detroit Red Wings single-season wins record. They’ve only lost 9 games this season, and just recently for the first time this year on home ice in regulation against the Seattle Kraken.

• Bruins’ record: 35-5-4 (1^st)
• Bruins’ PP: 27.8% (3^rd)
• Bruins PK: 86.7% (1^st)
• Bruins Goal Differential: +75 (1^st)/

The Bruins have a lot of weapons but the player to be most concerned about is the pasta man himself. David Pastrnak is scoring in bunches. He currently leads the team in pretty much every offensive category with 35 goals, 28 assists, and even power play points with 26. He’s a man on a mission, looking to maximize his cap hit in a pivotal contract year. He will be incredibly hard to stop no matter the on-ice situation. On the other end of the ice, Linus Ullmark has been busy putting up Vezina-caliber numbers. He leads the league with his .937 SV%, 1.88 GAA, and 24 wins. You’d be hard-pressed to give the trophy to anyone else right now.

Some good news now for the Rangers is this game is on home ice. I know that’s not much of a boon when we’re talking about a team that hasn’t even hit double digits in the loss column yet, but we will take what we can get. Second, Chris Kreider appears to be returning tonight, which will benefit the Rangers’ first Power Play unit and offensive depth.

Asked if he’s ready to go for tomorrow, Kreider looked up as serious as can be, and just nodded. He seems locked in. #NYR

— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) January 18, 2023

As a Massachusetts resident, I can’t accurately convey how tough it’s been to live here as a Rangers fan with Bruins Nation in full force. All year it’s been a waiting game for the Bruins’ hot streak to end, but it has so far refused to even slow down. Well, tonight would be the perfect night for a New York sized dose of reality. Whatever happens, this is an excellent litmus test for the Blueshirts to see how they currently line up against the Stanley Cup favorite this year. Let’s go Rangers!