5 players to watch when Bruins go for third straight win
The Bruins are doing what they can to work their way back into comfort in the East’s playoff race.
At one point looking like a longshot to remain in the hunt, the Bruins have rattled off back-to-back victories, and had themselves a quality ‘dig deep’ victory over the Wild on Tuesday night. But even so, the Bruins still find themselves on the outside looking in on Wednesday night, it will not get any easier for Boston, as they will have yet another showdown with a desperate Rangers club. This time in New York’s barn, with a Wednesday night head-to-head at Madison Square Garden.
The Bruins handled the Rangers by a 6-3 final last Saturday, but New York responded with a victory of their own Sunday night against the Golden Knights, and confidence and comfort could be on the upswing following another skate or two with their new-look top line.
Here are five players to keep a close eye on when the B’s and Rangers wrap up their season series Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden…
David Pastrnak
There’s not a player in the world hotter than the Bruins’ David Pastrnak right now.
Fresh off being named the NHL’s First Star of the Month for January, Pastrnak kicked off his February with a hat trick (and an assist) in last Saturday’s win over the Rangers, and came through with the primary helper on the game-winning goal in Tuesday’s shutout victory over the Wild at TD Garden.
And now comes another date with the Blueshirts.
Pastrnak has been downright fantastic in his head-to-heads with New York over the last three seasons, too, with six goals and eight points in eight games. In fact, over his career, Pastrnak has torched the Rangers for 17 goals and 39 points in 36 career games. Over that span, only Alex Ovechkin (39 points) and Sidney Crosby (43 points) have as many or more points against the Rangers. Decent company.
Matt Poitras
There’s no denying that Matt Poitras is feeling it right now, and with back-to-back games of two-assist nights, this is actually the hottest that he’s been in his extremely young NHL career.
One thing about Poitras that has been extremely noticeable has been his improved decision making and battle in the defensive zone. When the Bruins found themselves stuck in their own zone for what was a marathon shift in the second period of Tuesday’s win over the Wild, it never felt like Poitras was drowning or out of position. In fact, at times it felt like he was the only reason that the Wild didn’t get better looks.
The Bruins have also been finding sequences to get Poitras out there with David Pastrnak, which is never a bad idea when you’re looking to create more offensive opportunities.
Charlie McAvoy
Considering the fact that he’s scored in back-to-back games, Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo joked that maybe Charlie McAvoy needs to have a child more often. I mean, at this point, it can’t hurt, right?
When McAvoy scored his power-play last Saturday against the Rangers, it was being completely shot ready. There were no pauses or attempts to fool the killers. It was just bombs away. That’s when he’s at his most effective as a power-play threat for the Bruins. And when he tipped a Pastrnak shot through Marc-Andre Fleury on Tuesday, it was with McAvoy utilizing more of his ‘rover’ tendencies. Again, that’s another area where McAvoy excels when playing with the confidence he can.
McAvoy playing in New York is also a homecoming of sorts for McAvoy, who grew up on Long Island and actually grew up as a gigantic Rangers fan.
J.T. Miller
Moving from Vancouver to New York has not stopped J.T. Miller from being one of the most productive players in the NHL. The Bruins saw that firsthand last Saturday when Miller, who arrived to Boston at 4 a.m. and then suited up for a 3:50 p.m. puck drop against the Bruins, scored two goals in his (second) Rangers debut. And Miller built on that the very next day with a two-assist night against the Golden Knights. Since then, Miller has had a couple extra days to gel with the Rangers.
Will Borgen
If the Bruins give this start to Joonas Korpisalo after starting Jeremy Swayman in the first game of their back-to-back, it could be a ‘bombs away’ type of night from the New York backend, as Korpisalo has seemingly struggled with long-range shots. And that could be good news for a right-shot threat like the Rangers’ Will Borgen. Acquired from the Kraken back in late December, Borgen has totaled two goals and five points in 21 games with the Rangers, and has shown a willingness to let it fly.
At five-on-five play, Borgen has ripped 49 shot attempts towards the net, and his four individual high-danger chances are second among all Ranger defensemen, trailing only Adam Fox (9).
It’s a bit of a weird pick, I know, but just something to watch from that right side.
