Game 61: Rebound against Boston

Time to get back on track.

The Boston Bruins come to town tonight as the most balanced team in the Eastern Conference, and the favorites (yes, over the Pens) to play for the Stanley Cup in June. The Rangers are one of the hottest teams in the league, but are coming off a pretty sloppy loss against Philly yesterday afternoon. The way the Blueshirts have been playing lately, we can expect them to come out strong against the Bruins, a team they generally play well against.

The Bruins have had the same style of play for years under Claude Julien. They play an aggressive 2-1-2 forecheck early in the period and then switch to a more conservative 1-4 or 1-1-3 lock later in the period if they have a lead. In the defensive zone, the Bs play a low zone collapse and try to defend you in layers depending on puck location. On special teams, the Bruins use an umbrella power play and a wedge+1/diamond force penalty kill where they try to pressure for turnovers.

Rangers Lineup:

Chris Kreider–Derek Stepan–Rick Nash
Carl Hagelin–Brad Richards–Ryan Callahan
Benoit Pouliot–Derick Brassard–J.T. Miller
Derek Dorsett–Brian Boyle-Dan Carcillo