I’m not going to make the “it really is Black Friday for Dan Boyle and Viktor Stalberg” joke, but had to recognize it as a semi-viable lede.
So that’s out of the way.
Now, onto the business at hand -- per the New York Daily News, Boyle and Stalberg will be scratched today when the Rangers take on the Bruins in the annual Thanksgiving Showdown (1 p.m. ET, NBC). Dylan McIlrath will draw in on defense for Boyle, while Emerson Etem will take Stalberg’s spot up front.
It’s not really surprising Alain Vigneault made some lineup changes.
The Blueshirts’ last outing was arguably their worst of the season -- a 5-1 home loss to the Canadiens, a game in which Boyle finished minus-2 and Stalberg played the least among all Rangers skaters, with just 11:20 TOI.
More: Dan Boyle isn’t thrilled with all these healthy scratches
What’s more, McIlrath hasn’t played in nearly two weeks (Nov. 15, versus Toronto). It’s been even longer for Etem -- he’s been out of the lineup since a win over the Blues on Nov. 12.
Related: Just a friendly reminder about Friday’s Bruins-Rangers Thanksgiving Showdown, on NBC