TD Garden will play host to a pair of the NHL’s hottest teams Thursday night when the Boston Bruins take on the New York Rangers in an Original Six showdown.
The Bruins are 7-1-0 since Bruce Cassidy took over as interim head coach in early February, while the Rangers are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
Both teams also made an addition before Wednesday’s trade deadline.
Boston added veteran forward Drew Stafford from the Winnipeg Jets, while the Rangers acquired defenseman Brendan Smith from the Detroit Red Wings. Smith will make his debut for New York on Thursday night, but B’s fans will have to wait a little longer to see Stafford in Black and Gold.
Coach Cassidy said Stafford will not play in tonight's game. He's flying in today & will practice on Friday with the team.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 2, 2017
Here are the projected lineups for both teams.
BOSTON BRUINS (33-24-6)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–David Backes
Peter Cehlarik–David Krejci–David Pastrnak
Frank Vatrano–Ryan Spooner–Jimmy Hayes
Matt Beleskey–Dominic Moore–Riley Nash
Zdeno Chara–Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug–Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller–Colin Miller
Tuukka Rask
NEW YORK RANGERS (40-21-2)
J.T. Miller–Derek Stepan–Rick Nash
Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey–Kevin Hayes–Michael Grabner
Brandon Pirri–Oscar Lindberg–Matt Puempel
Marc Staal–Ryan McDonagh
Brendan Smith–Nick Holden
Brady Skjei–Adam Clendening
Henrik Lundqvist
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
