The Rangers will have their full complement of top-nine forwards intact for their Garden clash Thursday with the mighty Bruins, who take a 35-5-4 record into the match.
That means Chris Kreider, sidelined for the past three games with an upper-body issue he sustained on a shoulder-to-shoulder hit with Minnesota’s Marcus Foligno midway through the third period on Jan. 10, will return to his post on the left with Mika Zibanejad in the middle and Kaapo Kakko on the right.
“It’s never fun and it’s always frustrating when you’re not playing and can’t help the team,” Kreider said. “There’s always a sliver lining, though, you can learn some things from watching.”
Kreider, whose nine goals at five-on-five are tied with Artemi Panarin for the club lead, and whose 19 overall are second to Mika Zibanejad’s 20, neglected to share what he might have learned through the three contests through which his team scored a total of three goals at five-on-five.
“When the guy is not in the lineup, we really miss him,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “We miss his speed, the way he gets in on the puck. He’s a great player on our team. He’s an important guy.
Chris Kreider Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post“We like our team a lot better when he’s there.”
The Rangers may not bring their measuring sticks with them onto the ice, but they do understand the challenge and opportunity of this type of midseason matchup. Boston’s win percentage of .837 entering Wednesday is the best since the 1929-30 B’s played to a .875 percentage in going 38-5-1.
“It’s going to be a good test for us, but it’s a test every time we step onto the ice,” Zibanejad said. “To a degree, it’s a game you kind of circle on the calendar, but at the same time, we’re trying to build our game and not necessarily read too much into this one matchup.”
“But it’s a good check for ourselves on whether we can play our game against them.”
Alexis Lafreniere, who has not scored in his past 16 games, will shift back to the third line with Filip Chytil and Barclay Goodrow upon Kreider’s return. This will be the first game for this unit since the season opener. Lafreniere did not have a point while recording six shots in three games with Zibanejad and Kakko through which he got an average ice time of 19:28 per.
Jimmy Vesey, who ostensibly was signed to fill a fourth-line slot, will skate on the fourth unit on Thursday for only the eighth time. Vesey, a top-nine staple for the most part, is expected to play with Jake Leschyshyn in the middle and either Sammy Blais or Jonny Brodzinski on the other wing.
Julien Gauthier, on IR with an upper-body injury he sustained in a collision with Blais toward the end of the first period of the Jan. 12 match against Dallas, skated in practice wearing a non-contact jersey.
After Thursday, the Rangers will not play again until Monday, when they host the Panthers in the first of three games next week that precedes the club’s bye-week that extends through All-Star weekend. The Blueshirts, who are in Toronto on Jan. 25, will be off after the Jan. 27 match at home against Vegas until they reconvene for practice on Feb. 5, a day before the Flames come to the Garden.
