NHL Match Preview Roundup for Monday April.4
There are only two matches scheduled for Monday in the National Hockey League, both are big ones. It will be a faceoff between two big teams from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference.
Like the West, a battle rages on the rival division for playoff berths and positioning. Clubs will have to work magic to ensure their spot on the elite eight-team list before the regulation season draws to an end.
Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers
Two of the “Original Six” teams will go head to head on Monday for the final time this season. Boston Bruins travel to meet New York Rangers at the Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, at 7:30pm ET.
The eighth placed New York Rangers will have an opportunity to lengthen its lead over ninth placed Carolina Hurricanes, one game apart from tying it with 87 points.
Both teams have equal three games remaining to secure the final playoff spot.
Boston will look to level the series between both teams, having lost to Rangers twice in their last three matchups. In their last game, New York shutout third placed Bruins by 1-0 on March 26.
"It's always a great feeling to come in here and win. Plus, there was a lot of pressure on all of us today to respond in a good way, which we did. Now we'll enjoy it going back to New York and then get ready to do it again against Boston", said Rangers'
goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, talking about their previous match against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Bruins has not been playing like the team it once was at the start of the season.
In previous matches, they lost to a withering Toronto Maple Leafs and nearly faced defeat against a struggling Atlanta.
A team like Boston that has secured its playoff spot and divisional title should not be losing to teams below the border line, especially at a time like this.
Boston’s forward, Brad Marchand, is the only player who is playing in consistent form for his team. He has notched a point in six consecutive games, contributing two goals and four assists in that time frame. Bruins is still without Marc Savard and Shawn
Thornton.
After Sunday’s win against Philadelphia, New York reached a new milestone after 17 years.
They have won 24 road games this season, and the last time they did this, it led them to the Stanley Cup.
Martin Biron, Derek Boogaard, Chris Drury and Alex Frolov are still out due to various injuries.
Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks
Coming out of a near perfect month, Los Angeles started off the month in a big way by beating the Dallas Stars on Saturday. LA will continue their rise in the Western Conference when they face the Sharks for the last time at the HP Pavilion Arena, in San
Jose California.
The Sharks are hungry to regain their second number spot in the Western Division after Detroit retook it after their win over Minnesota. Both teams are battling with a one point advantage to retain the runner up position before the season ends. Another win
is required by San Jose is they want to clinch their Pacific Division.
On the other hand, Los Angeles is fighting with Phoenix to retain the fourth spot. They’re in a position to fall into seventh place if they do not win their upcoming matches. Teams like Nashville, Phoenix and Anaheim are right on their tail and could over
throw the Kings at anytime.
"It's a huge game for us," said Kings Defenseman Matte Greene. "We want to keep climbing. We want to keep getting points as we're closing out the year here."
San Jose is on a 7-0-1 run, all they need is a little motivation and they can capture any game with ease. It was seen in their previous match against the Ducks when they were down 2-0 that after a little team meeting, they answered right back and scored
four consecutive goals.
LA Kings might have a tough time in the playoffs, as star player, Anze Kopitar, is out due to an ankle surgery.
LA goalie, Jonathan Quick, is performing well for them, making crucial saves and lowering goals against average.
San Jose’s Scott Nichol and Kent Huskins might be out with injuries, but Patrick Marleau has picked up the pace. He has 10 goals and seven assists in his last nine games.
The puck will drop for both teams at 10pm ET on Monday.
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