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NHL matinee on NBC: Rangers seek revenge against roughed-up Bruins

Chris Kreider, Tuukka Rask, Torey Krug

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) makes a save with New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) threatening in the third period of their NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013. Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug (47) defends on the play as the Bruins defeated the Rangers 2-1. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

AP

Looking to rest off yesterday’s feast? NBC has a 1 p.m. ET game set up between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. In addition to NBC, you can also watch it online.

For the first time since they were eliminated by the Bruins in the 2013 playoffs, the New York Rangers will return to TD Garden. They’re out for revenge, but Boston will be looking to heal from even fresher wounds.

Boston traveled to Detroit on Wednesday were handed an embarrassing 6-1 setback.

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“Everything we did (Wednesday night) was just disastrous,” Bruins coach Claude Julien remarked, according to the Boston Herald.

“Every once in a while during the season you get a game like that and you just hope it wakes your team up a little bit. Hopefully a little jolt like that will help you get better here.”

With that in mind, this game has extra meaning for the Bruins. This will determine if that crushing defeat was just a blip on the radar or a far more ominous sign.

Meanwhile the Rangers are hoping that their lowest point is already well behind them. They endured a brutal nine-game road trip to start the season and have just barely finished climbing out of the 3-6-0 hole they were in by the time that stint ended.

They’re wrapping up another lengthy journey, but this time it’s gone far better with three wins in four matches going into this contest. Henrik Lundqvist and rookie Cam Talbot have played a huge part in that turnaround, ensuring that the Rangers have consistently enjoyed solid goaltending.

Boston Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask is tentatively penciled in to counter Lundqvist. Like his teammates, Rask didn’t come out of Wednesday’s contest looking particularly good, but he has been terrific overall this season. A match against the Rangers might be the perfect antidote for a bad game too, given that he turned aside 43 of 44 shots against New York when he faced them on Nov. 19.

Playing against the Rangers has been a pretty good gig for opposing goaltenders so far this season. New York is averaging just 2.12 goals per game, so if the Bruins’ forwards click today, then the Rangers will have difficulty keeping pace.

The Rangers’ offense ran dry against the Bruins during the playoffs and again in their match a week and a half ago. We’ll see if they can break that cycle today.

Follow @RyanDadoun