Boston Bruins seek domination over New York Rangers – NHL Preview
The Boston Bruins held their nerves and got succeeded against Nashville Predators towards the end, but they have to adopt a different modus operandi when they play New York Rangers in a National Hockey League (NHL) game on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, at
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts.
Both the two top teams of the Eastern Conference will enter the rink with a successful game at their back, but Rangers will still have a slight edge.
Rangers are leading the conference with 77 points after 54 games and are on a three-game winning streak.
The recent victories came against Tampa Bay Lightning (4-3 overtime), Philadelphia Flyers (5-2) and Washington Capitals (3-2).
Against Capitals, Rangers grabbed an early lead and then never allowed Capitals to get ahead. Although Capitals did equalise the score one time, Rangers ensured it did not happen again.
Rangers’ goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, said after the game:
"It's been an intense 24 hours here with two tough games. It's been a great week for us, and we should feel good about ourselves and go into Boston and get ready for that one."
Boston is not also very far away from Rangers in the conference ranking.
The Bruins have 70 points after 53 games and are placed at second spot and the reason for being behind Rangers is Boston’s inconsistency and the struggling offence.
Out of the last five games, Boston has only won two with its recent victory coming against Predators in a very close encounter.
Predators had almost got the victory, but Boston scored a goal with less than two minutes left in the regulation to level the score and force the game to overtime.
After the goalless overtime, the game was sent to shootout where Boston scored twice to get the victory.
Bruins’ left winger, Milan Lucic, said after the win:
"You never want to get down on yourself and start feeling sorry for ourselves and I think that’s when the pride kicks in. It’s up to different guys at different times to step up and play big at key moments."
Both these teams met a few weeks ago on the same rink and Rangers managed to defeat the host in overtime.
Rangers have only lost two games after that encounter while Boston suffered four defeats.
Boston is seeking revenge, but New York will not surrender easily.
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