Rangers at Bruins
New York Rangers at Boston Bruins (-130, 5.5)
The New York Rangers and Boston Bruins will both be desperate for a victory when they meet in Boston on NBC Sunday.
Boston currently holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, only three points ahead of the Rangers.
Both clubs are struggling. New York has lost six of its last eight games, while the Bruins have dropped five of their last seven.
Where's the intensity?
The Bruins are coming off a loss to the Penguins Thursday where the focal point seemed to be evening the score with Pittsburgh pest Matt Cooke instead of earning two points.
Boston forward Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves with Cooke two minutes into the game, retribution for a blindside hit by Cooke that concussed Marc Savard earlier this month. Following the scrap, the Bruins were outshot 31-17 and outscored 3-0.
Watching another uninspired effort was the last straw for Bruins vice president Cam Neely.
"It's been very, very disappointing just to see the way our team has performed with that lack of emotion," Neely said on WEEI's "The Big Show". "I don't blame our fans for complaining they don't see that compete or passion they want to see."
Neely also said team officials were surprised by the "loss of leadership and character in the dressing room."
They're all must-win games
When is a must-win game not a must-win game? After you lose it.
Prior to New York's last game against the Blues, Rangers coach John Tortorella stressed that his club needed a win. After a 4-3 loss to St. Louis Thursday at MSG, however, Torts was downplaying the defeat.
"Still in it," he told reporters. "They're not down. There is no sense of being down. It's just a matter of getting ready to play another game and try to win."
Rangers captain Chris Drury realizes the importance of Sunday's game against Boston.
"Our focus needs to be on the next game," he said. "That's all we can be thinking about right now, which happens to be the team we're chasing."
Flu season
The flu has struck Bruins camp at a bad time of the season. Forward Marco Sturm and defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk are all questionable for Sunday's game because of the viral illness.
"There's nothing you can do about it," said Bruins coach Claude Julien, whose team is already without top playmaker Savard for likely the rest of the season. "You've just got to battle through those situations and realize the (importance) of tomorrow."
New York has no players listed on its injury report.
Riding Rask
Young Finnish goaltender Tuukka Rask appears to have wrestled the Boston starting job away from Tim Thomas, last season's Vezina Trophy winner.
Rask is 16-10-4 on the season, leads the NHL with a 2.12 goals-against average and is tied for second in save percentage. He is expected to get the majority of starts down the stretch as the Bruins push for the playoffs.
"He's played well for us," Julien told the media. "He's done exactly what we expected him to do this year, coming in and being ready when called upon. I think he's done a great job."
Trends to consider
The home team has dominated the series of late, winning seven of the last eight games. Boston, however, has lost 11 of its last 12 games at the TD Bank North Garden.
The under has cashed in the last four games between the Bruins and the Rangers and in five of the last six meetings in Boston.
The under is 24-9-3 in the Rangers' last 36 games on the road and 19-7-3 in Boston's last 29 games at home.
New York Rangers at Boston Bruins (-130, 5.5)
The New York Rangers and Boston Bruins will both be desperate for a victory when they meet in Boston on NBC Sunday.
Boston currently holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, only three points ahead of the Rangers.
Both clubs are struggling. New York has lost six of its last eight games, while the Bruins have dropped five of their last seven.
Where's the intensity?
The Bruins are coming off a loss to the Penguins Thursday where the focal point seemed to be evening the score with Pittsburgh pest Matt Cooke instead of earning two points.
Boston forward Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves with Cooke two minutes into the game, retribution for a blindside hit by Cooke that concussed Marc Savard earlier this month. Following the scrap, the Bruins were outshot 31-17 and outscored 3-0.
Watching another uninspired effort was the last straw for Bruins vice president Cam Neely.
"It's been very, very disappointing just to see the way our team has performed with that lack of emotion," Neely said on WEEI's "The Big Show". "I don't blame our fans for complaining they don't see that compete or passion they want to see."
Neely also said team officials were surprised by the "loss of leadership and character in the dressing room."
They're all must-win games
When is a must-win game not a must-win game? After you lose it.
Prior to New York's last game against the Blues, Rangers coach John Tortorella stressed that his club needed a win. After a 4-3 loss to St. Louis Thursday at MSG, however, Torts was downplaying the defeat.
"Still in it," he told reporters. "They're not down. There is no sense of being down. It's just a matter of getting ready to play another game and try to win."
Rangers captain Chris Drury realizes the importance of Sunday's game against Boston.
"Our focus needs to be on the next game," he said. "That's all we can be thinking about right now, which happens to be the team we're chasing."
Flu season
The flu has struck Bruins camp at a bad time of the season. Forward Marco Sturm and defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk are all questionable for Sunday's game because of the viral illness.
"There's nothing you can do about it," said Bruins coach Claude Julien, whose team is already without top playmaker Savard for likely the rest of the season. "You've just got to battle through those situations and realize the (importance) of tomorrow."
New York has no players listed on its injury report.
Riding Rask
Young Finnish goaltender Tuukka Rask appears to have wrestled the Boston starting job away from Tim Thomas, last season's Vezina Trophy winner.
Rask is 16-10-4 on the season, leads the NHL with a 2.12 goals-against average and is tied for second in save percentage. He is expected to get the majority of starts down the stretch as the Bruins push for the playoffs.
"He's played well for us," Julien told the media. "He's done exactly what we expected him to do this year, coming in and being ready when called upon. I think he's done a great job."
Trends to consider
The home team has dominated the series of late, winning seven of the last eight games. Boston, however, has lost 11 of its last 12 games at the TD Bank North Garden.
The under has cashed in the last four games between the Bruins and the Rangers and in five of the last six meetings in Boston.
The under is 24-9-3 in the Rangers' last 36 games on the road and 19-7-3 in Boston's last 29 games at home.
