If you score on the New York Rangers, save the puck. It doesn’t happen often.

OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the Blueshirts do play a defensive-minded brand of hockey that makes it very difficult to put pucks in the net. John Tortorella‘s squad ranked fourth in goals against during the regular season (2.3 per game) and continued its stingy play against the Capitals in the first round, allowing two goals or fewer in four of the seven games.

Credit for the Rangers’ defensive prowess is shared by goalie Henrik Lundqvist — the 2012 Vezina Trophy winner and a finalist again this year — and a crew of defensemen who aren’t afraid to sacrifice their bodies.

For more on the Bruins’ plan to overcome New York’s dominant D, check out the video above.

David Krejci has been arguably the best player on the ice in these playoffs, leading the NHL in points (10), goals (tied with Chicago’s Patrick Sharp with five) and plus-minus (tied with teammate Nathan Horton with a plus-7) in the postseason.

That dominance was on full display Wednesday night, when his hat trick — coupled with Tuukka Rask‘s stellar play in net — powered the Bruins to a 4-3 overtime win over the Maple Leafs in Game 4 of their first-round series. Boston can close out the Leafs on Friday at TD Garden, and Bruins play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards expects Krejci to again play a starring role.

Check out Jack’s full preview of Game 5 in the video above.

Sports returned to Boston on Wednesday, two days after the Boston Marathon bombings that devastated the city.

Civic pride was on full display throughout the Bruins’ matchup with the Sabres at TD Garden, which was preceded by a video tribute to the victims and a rousing rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” with the capacity crowd joining anthem singer Rene Rancourt for the second half of the tune.

The Bruins could not pull out a win over their division rivals, dropping a 3-2 decision in a shootout, but the game provided an uplifting experience for a community that has been through so much pain this week.

To see reactions from both the Bruins players and the fans in attendance, check out the video above.

In the wake of Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings, the Bruins and Celtics both called off their originally scheduled home games. The teams returned to practice Tuesday, and players and coaches took the opportunity to express their love for the city they call home.

“Boston, for me personally and my family, is a city we’ve fallen in love with,” Bruins head coach Claude Julien said. “So when you see something like that happen, there’s no doubt it affects you as an individual and even for us as a group.”

Julien’s basketball counterpart, Doc Rivers, echoed his sentiments, expressing the pride he feels to represent the people of Boston.

“Being in the city, the one thing I will say is that you’re just really proud to be a part of Boston,” the Celtics coach said. “I saw people who didn’t work for the police or anything like that directing traffic, showing people where to go. I just thought the spirit of Boston was phenomenal last night.”

To hear more from Julien, Rivers and their players, see the video above.

The culmination of one of Boston’s greatest traditions was marred Monday afternoon when two explosions went off on Boylston Street near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

A majority of the runners had already crossed the finish line when the explosions detonated just before 3 p.m., but more than 4,000 had not, and those who remained in the area had difficulty putting the incidents into words even hours later.

“It’s a fun day that should be fun and exciting. And it’s not … it’s not going to be remembered that way,” one runner said.

See the video above to hear firsthand accounts from marathoners and spectators.

The Bruins earned a much-needed win on Wednesday night over the Devils, and did so on the strength of their special teams.

The B’s struggled on the power play on Saturday night late in the game against the Canadiens, but they seemed to have shored everything up against the Devils.The key to the 5-4 win was the Bruins’ short-handed play — they scored two short-handed goals.

Hear what Andy Brickley has to say in the breakdown above.

For the majority of his day, Rich Nici is confined to a wheelchair. But when he touches the snow at Sunday River Ski Resort in Maine, Nici can travel at speeds most people would only dream of.

Nici, who had never skied before when a car accident paralyzed him from the waist down, is now a member of the Maine Adaptive Alpine Race Team, a ski team made up of people with disabilities that competes in events around New England.

“Being in a wheelchair, my top speed is probably like five miles an hour, maybe 10,” Nici said. “And then my ability to go certain places is limited, as well, because of that. So skiing sort of opens the doors on all of that.”

The organizers of the program — which is offered free of charge and constantly accepting new members — say that the greatest lessons taught on the mountain are not about skiing, but rather about enjoying the freedom of life.

Hear more from Maine Adaptive’s participants and volunteers in the video above, and visit the team’s website for more information on the program.

The Florida Panthers were the best team in the Southeast Division last season, totaling 94 points and earning the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. This season has not been so bright in Sunrise.

Kevin Dineen‘s club currently sits in fourth place in the Southeast, having totaled just 14 points through 17 games, and has dropped six of its last seven contests. Those struggles start between the pipes, as Jose Theodore, Scott Clemmensen and Jakob Markstrom have combined to post a 3.60 goals against average that is dead last in the NHL. The Panthers will look to get back on track when they host the 10-2-2 Bruins on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The Miami Herald’s George Richards joined NESN Daily to preview the matchup. Check it out in the video above.

Hockey is back, and the season will be starting up before you know it. The biggest questions now are all related to the on-ice product, which is a breath of fresh air for hockey fans tired of hearing about labor negotiations.

So how will the Bruins fare coming out of the lockout? Well, while some teams might suffer some ill effects of the layoff, NESN’s Andy Brickley thinks the B’s might actually have a leg up on the competition.

Since the Bruins have so much depth, rolling four lines deep, the B’s shouldn’t have any problem getting their legs under them to start the season. Plus, Boston had a number of players play overseas during the lockout, so there shouldn’t be much rust when the puck is finally dropped.

Brickley said B’s fans should be excited about their team’s chances this year, as the core of the 2011 Stanley Cup champion squad is still very much intact, and Boston is hungry for a return to glory.

Check out the video above to hear more from Brick.

While the T’s still need to be crossed and the I’s still need to be dotted, the NHL lockout is, thankfully, finally over. The questions now are: How did it finally end? And did it really need to take this long?

John Shannon of Rogers Sportsnet said after everything was agreed upon that some will wonder why the lockout even had to take place. In the last 24 to 48 hours, the NHL compromised a lot, and the players may feel like they “won” in the negotiations.

The agreement is a 10-year deal with an opt out after eight. There’s a 50-50 split on all revenue, the maximum contract length for free agents is seven years — eight if players re-sign with the same team — and the salary cap will be $60 million in 2012-13 and $64.3 million in 2013-14.

Watch the video above to hear NESN’s Leah Hextall discuss the end of the NHL lockout with Shannon.

The two sides are close. Yeah, right — we’ve heard that one before.

Well, this time, with the threat of a lost season looming large, there appears to be real, substantial progress between the NHL and the players’ association in working toward a new collective bargaining agreement. While the parties are close on some subjects, others — including maximum contract length, for instance — have yet to be resolved, so there is some reason yet to be nervous.

Check out the video above, as NESN Daily‘s Leah Hextall talks to NHL experts John Shannon and Dave Pagnotta to break down the negotiations.

The 5-foot-9 blue liner, currently a freshman at Boston University, hails from Charlestown, Mass., and was drafted by the Bruins in the third round (85th overall) of the 2012 NHL draft.

As NESN’s Leah Hextall reports, the 18-year-old Grzelcyk will be on the outside looking in for the national team.

#Bruins prospect Matt Grzelcyk odd man out on USA blueline at #WJC2013. Patrick Sieloff is the 7th D-man. @NESN

—
Leah Hextall (@leahhextall) December 28, 2012

Team USA defeated Germany 8-0 on Thursday in their first game of the tournament, and face host country Russia on Friday.

Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@Matt_Grzelcyk5

Last Thursday, Malcolm Subban got a tune-up in goal for team Canada in an exhibition prior to the World Junior Championship, and he’ll look to build on that 3-2 losing effort next time out.

The Bruins’ first-round draft pick may be the future in Boston, but he’s the present in Canada, as Subban will get the start in the country’s first game of the tournament. Meanwhile, future teammate Matt Grzelcyk is one of two players vying for the final roster spot of team USA, so a few future Bruins could be putting their skills on display during the under-20 competition.

In addition to future Bruins making the news, current Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference is planning to return from his stint in the Czech league. Check out all these stories in the video above from NESN Daily.

Before this year’s lockout, the NHL was seeing record revenue within the sport. When it returns from its hiatus, it might be a while before it reaches those heights again.

According to Level5 Strategy Group, the level of passion amongst hockey fans has suffered a serious decline since the beginning of the lockout, a fact which might translate into trouble for teams once hockey gets going again. The NHL is even compared to British Petroleum (BP) in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Ouch.

Check out an interview with Level5 CEO David Kincaid on NESN Daily above.

With the NFL entering its final two weeks, the MVP race is coming into clear focus.

Most of the attention right now is on the ever-present duo of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, with Adrian Peterson running in third place. While that decision might be an easy one for a Patriots fan to make, the national crowd is going to have a much tougher go of it.

Matt Chatham and Jeff Howe debated the issue on opposing sides in the latest “Two Sides” segment on NESN Daily. Who do you think won the debate? Check it out in the video above.

The NHL and NHLPA don’t appear to be getting any closer in their discussions to end the lockout, so the players have started taking drastic measures.

The players will begin voting Sunday on whether to grant the executive board the authority to dissolve the NHLPA. The NBA and NFL players’ associations did the same last year when both leagues were in lockouts.

Negotiations with the league can continue while the NHLPA decides whether to dissolve itself. The players would have to vote two-thirds in favor to pass the decision on to the executive board.

To find out what all of this means, watch the video above with John Shannon of Rogers Sportsnet as he discusses the latest happenings in the NHL lockout with NESN’s Dale Arnold and Leah Hextall.

Jordan Caron isn’t the flashiest hockey player, but he has NHL dreams all the same.

The 22-year-old is resigned to the fact that he won’t out-skate every single opponent, and he’ll rarely throw a sick deke to leave a goaltender completely off-guard. However, what Caron does do well is grind out shifts and use his physicality as a defense-first forward — just the kind of player that Bruins coach Claude Julien likes.

Right now Caron toils in Providence awaiting the end of the NHL lockout and his chance to prove he belongs with the big team permanently. Check out the story of the Bruins’ 2009 first-round draft pick in the video above.

While the holidays are a time for spending time at home with family, not everyone will be so lucky.

That’s why the Bruins continue on with their annual holiday toy event, which gives about $22,000 worth of toys to children in local hospitals who aren’t able to make it home this season. Bruins president Cam Neely and coach Claude Julien headed to Target on Monday as part of the event, picking out some toys personally to get delivered to a youngster. Even NESN’s own Dale Arnold and Adam Pellerin tagged along to help out the cause.

Check out the Bruins spread some holiday cheer in the video above.

NESN’s Dale Arnold checked in with some Massachusetts youth hockey players for their thoughts on the lockout. As expected, most don’t care how it’s accomplished, they just want hockey back.

Even though they don’t know who Donald Fehr or Gary Bettman are, even the youngest hockey fans know the simplest version of why the NHL is in a work stoppage: everyone wants more money. Fortunately, even though talks broke off on Thursday, the two sides did speak over the weekend and are expected to meet again this week.

Watch the video above to hear some young hockey fans’ thoughts on the lockout. One player even think the whole disagreement comes down to Tim Thomas.

Wes Welker isn’t just Tom Brady‘s longtime favorite receiving target. He’s also starting to put together some impressive career numbers himself.

As the Patriots prepare to take on the Texans on Sunday — in a game that’s looked at as both a major test and a measuring stick for New England — Welker is closing in on a personal milestone himself. With eight more catches on the season, Welker can become the first receiver in NFL history with five seasons of 100 or more catches. Welker is leading the league right now with 92 catches, one more than Chicago’s Brandon Marshall.

Check out what Welker and special teams teammate Matthew Slater had to tell NESN Daily in the video above.