BOSTON — The Bruins will host another potential playoff opponent on Saturday afternoon as the New York Rangers come to town for a matinee clash.
Even with that possibility, the Bruins know it can still be tough to match the effort they put together for Thursday’s emotional 7-0 win over archrival Montreal, and guarding against any letdown will be their No. 1 priority.
“That’s always the biggest challenge,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “You can talk about it all you want, but it’s a mindset. What’s done is done. I think we’ve had two good games this week, but now’s not the time to let your guard down. It’s a challenge in itself for players to go out there and continue to do the things they’ve done well, but that’s a challenge you have to be ready to face this time of year.”
Julien stated he would stick with the same lineup as Thursday, so Daniel Paille, Steven Kampfer and Shane Hnidy will remain the scratches. But when asked if he would have Tim Thomas starting again, Julien would only say, “Maybe.”
Hendrik Lundqvist is expected to be in goal for New York. The Rangers will also have agitator Sean Avery back after ne was a healthy scratch for five of the last six games. His presence might make it easier for the Bruins to get the emotional engagement needed to pull out another key win in this one.
Projected Bruins lines
Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Rich Peverley-Chris Kelly-Tyler Seguin
Michael Ryder-Greg Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Defense
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle- Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid
Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Scratches: Daniel Paille, Steven Kampfer, Shane Hnidy
Projected Rangers lines
Forwards
Brandon Dubinsky-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Vinny Prospal-Erik Christensen-Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Wojtek Wolski-Derek Stepan-Sean Avery
Defense
Marc Staal-Dan Girardi
Steve Eminger-Bryan McCabe
Ryan McDonagh-Michael Sauer
Goalies
Henrik Lundqvist
Chad Johnson
Scratches: Mats Zuccarello, Matt Gilroy
