The Boston Bruins haven’t been very good since returning from the Olympic break, and they’ll have to solve one of the Games’ most valuable players if they’re going to break through.
The B’s are in New York on Sunday night where they will take on the Rangers for the third time this season. Despite the fact that Henrik Lundqvist started Saturday against Philadelphia, the Rangers goalie will be back between the pipes against Boston. He’s coming off a fantastic Olympic performance in which the Swedish goaltender was named the tournament’s top goalie. He’s also celebrating his 32nd birthday on Sunday.
The Bruins’ biggest issues entering Sunday night probably won’t be generating scoring chances. They’ve scored six goals in their two games since returning from the two-week break, but the defensive issues have proved to be most costly. The Rangers may be just what the doctor ordered as the Blueshirts have just four goals in their two games since returning.
Boston will once again be without Adam McQuaid as the defenseman reaggravated a leg injury earlier this week.
Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for Sunday night’s game.
Bruins (37-17-5, 79 points)
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly — Carl Soderberg — Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
Torey Krug — Kevan Miller
Rangers (33-25-3, 69 points)
Chris Kreider — Derek Stepan — Rick Nash
Carl Hagelin — Brad Richards — Ryan Callahan
Benoit Pouliot — Derrick Brassard — T.J. Miller
Brian Boyle — Dominic Moore — Dan Carcillo
Ryan McDonagh — Dan Girardi
Marc Staal — Anton Stralman
John Moore — Kevin Klein
