BOSTON — The Bruins and Rangers are getting ready for their first meeting of the season on Saturday night.
That only means one thing: Expect a tight, low-scoring game.
In the last 13 games between these clubs, 11 have been decided by a single goal, with the other two being two-goal games. Five of those contests have been 1-0 affairs, and only twice has either team scored more than three goals, with each club recording a 4-3 victory.
"I think that No. 1, the goaltending for both teams has been pretty good, so that certainly helps keep the score down," said Bruins coach Claude Julien after his club's morning skate on Saturday. "I don't think it's from a lack of excitement, because I remember some games that we've played against them where there's been lots of opportunities, lots of chances and they're hard-fought, physical games."
While Julien remembers those tight-checking games well, Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was surprised to hear how close all the recent games have been.
"You see, that's the kind of thing I don't know and you guys always point those out," said Rask. "But you've got two good defensive teams playing against each other, so you can expect a tight game. I remember last year we played some really good matchups against them, so hopefully we'll see a good one today."
Rask has helped keep the scoring down in his three career starts against the Rangers, going 2-1-0 with a 1.34 GAA and a .957 save percentage against New York. That includes a 1-0 shutout win in the only game he played with the big club in 2008-09.
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has even more impressive numbers against the Bruins, going 13-4-2 with a 1.39 GAA, a .951 save percentage and four shutouts. But at least one Bruin hopes Boston's offense will finally break out against him on Saturday night.
"It's just one of those teams that we kind of battle a bit," said Bruins forward Brad Marchand. "We're not too far from each other. They have a good team. They're hard working and Lundqvist is a pretty good goalie. It's just kind of how the ball falls sometimes, but hopefully it's not one of those games tonight. Hopefully we're going to break out and have four or five goals. You never know, right?"
Rangers coach John Tortorella certainly doesn't know what to expect in this one, or how to explain all the low-scoring clashes between the two teams in recent seasons.
"I don't know, when I was with another team, it was last goal wins," said Tortorella, who previously coached Tampa Bay. "Both teams have some pretty good goaltending. I don't have any particular thought on it.
"The only thought I'm having is we have to play the way we played in Toronto," added Tortorella, whose club snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win at Toronto on Thursday. "I think this [Bruins club] is a better team [than Toronto]. I think this is a deeper team, and they're playing with a lot of confidence."
