11/1 Pregame Notes and Rosters – Bruins at Rangers

Here are the rosters for this afternoon’s game between the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. Face-off is scheduled for 1:00 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

BOSTON BRUINS (6-5-1, 13 pts.):
#6 D Dennis Wideman 1-1-2-2
#16 F Marco Sturm 2-5-7-4
#17 F Milan Lucic 0-3-3-9 (IR – finger)
#20 F Daniel Paille 0-5-5-2 (totals w/ BOS & BUF)
#21 D Andrew Ference 0-1-1-6
#22 F Shawn Thornton 1-0-1-21
#26 F Blake Wheeler 4-3-7-6
#27 F Steve Begin 2-4-6-9
#28 F Mark Recchi 2-2-4-6
#30 G Tim Thomas 4-4-0, 2.86, .906
#33 D Zdeno Chara 0-6-6-22
#37 F Patrice Bergeron 4-4-8-6
#40 G Tuukka Rask 2-1-1, 2.41 .915
#42 F Trent Whitfield 0-0-0-5
#45 D Mark Stuart 1-2-3-8
#46 F David Krejci 1-4-5-0
#48 D Matt Hunwick 3-1-4-8
#53 D Derek Morris 1-6-7-10
#55 D Johnny Boychuk 0-0-0-5
#60 F Vladimir Sobotka 1-2-3-0
#61 F Byron Bitz 1-1-2-7
#63 F Brad Marchand 0-1-1-0
#73 F Michael Ryder 3-3-6-0
#91 F Marc Savard 4-3-7-4 (IR – foot)

NEW YORK RANGERS (8-5-1, 17 pts.):
#4 D Michael Del Zotto 4-8-12-6
#5 D Dan Girardi 3-4-7-10
#6 D Wade Redden 1-4-5-2
#10 F Marian Gaborik 10-8-18-4
#12 F Ales Kotalik 5-7-12-12
#16 F Sean Avery 2-4-6-13
#17 F Brandon Dubinsky 3-6-9-16
#18 D Marc Staal 2-3-5-8
#20 F Vinny Prospal 4-13-17-8
#21 F Christopher Higgins 0-2-2-12
#22 F Brian Boyle 1-1-2-13
#23 F Chris Drury 2-3-5-10
#24 F Ryan Callahan 2-3-5-2
#30 G Henrik Lundqvist 7-4-1, 2.68, .914
#33 D Michal Rozsival 0-4-4-8
#34 F Aaron Voros 0-1-1-14
#36 F Dane Byers 1-0-1-2
#40 G Steve Valiquette 1-1-0, 3.00, .861
#42 F Artem Anisimov 3-4-7-6
#81 F Enver Lisin 3-5-8-0
#87 F Donald Brashear 0-1-1-23
#97 D Matt Gilroy 2-1-3-2

- Thanks to a second consecutive afternoon game, the starting goaltenders likely won’t be officially known until the teams take the ice for warmups. Despite a shutout from Tuukka Rask on Saturday, Tim Thomas will likely return to the crease, as the Bruins battle a conference rival. Thomas has a 4-4-0 record, a 2.86 goals against average, and a .906 save percentage this season, and is 3-4-3 in ten career appearances against the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist is expected to get the nod for New York, bringing a 7-4-1 record, a 2.68 goals against average, and a .914 save percentage into the contest. Lundqvist has a career record of 10-3-2 in 15 appearances against Boston.

- The Bruins’ 22-man active roster hasn’t featured any changes since yesterday, and the lineup will likely remain the same, with Trent Whitfield and Johnny Boychuk serving as the club’s healthy scratches. The Rangers are also carrying 22 players on their active roster, meaning that they will be forced to sit two. Marian Gaborik, Sean Avery, and Christopher Higgins will have the biggest impacts on the scratches, as all three are hoping to return from injuries soon.

- With Marc Savard and Milan Lucic out of the lineup, Boston has shifted to a more defensive philosophy, and that has translated to a 3-1-1 record in the last five games. The Bruins will be looking for their second consecutive win on Sunday, as they blanked the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 on Saturday. Patrice Bergeron continues to lead the club with eight points, while being tied for the team lead in goals along with Blake Wheeler and Marc Savard, who each have four.

- For the second consecutive season, the Rangers blazed out of the starting gates. This season, New York immediately compiled a 7-1-0 record, but has slipped to 8-5-1 since. The Rangers come into today’s game on a two-game losing streak, as they suffered setbacks against the Islanders and Wild. Marian Gaborik leads New York with ten goals and 18 points, while Vinny Prospal has dished out assists for 13 of his 17 points.

- Last season, Boston and New York met four times, with both teams picking up sweeps on home ice. The Bruins scored two 1-0 wins on their home ice, while the Rangers had wins of 3-2 and 4-3 at their home building. Marc Savard’s four points led the way offensively in the season series, and Zdeno Chara was the only player with multiple goals, as he scored twice. Nik Antropov and Lauri Korpikoski were the only Rangers with multiple points. Henrik Lundqvist played in all four games for the Rangers, while the Bruins used three different netminders.

- This past offseason was a busy one for the New York Rangers, as the team made a significant amount of transactions. The majority of those moves came from the forwards, as Brian Boyle, Donald Brashear, Marian Gaborik, Christopher Higgins, Ales Kotalik, Enver Lisin, and Vinny Prospal are all new faces in the organization. That means that quite a few players have moved on to other clubs. They are: Nik Antropov, Blair Betts, Scott Gomez, Lauri Korpikoski, Paul Mara, Derek Morris, Markus Naslund, Colton Orr, and Fredrik Sjostrom.

- In terms of exciting rookies, the place to look is New York’s blueline. Michael Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy are each playing in their first professional seasons, and both are making a difference. Del Zotto was taken with the 20th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, and has been an offensive force, scoring four goals and eight assists in 14 games. Gilroy’s offensive production is significantly lower at two goals and one assist, but a plus-6 rating is certainly noteworthy for an undrafted player that made the club out of training camp.

- The Boston Bruins have two players that spent time with the New York Rangers. Marc Savard was originally selected by the Rangers with the 91st overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, and went on to play in 98 games at the NHL level in New York. In that time, Savard had ten goals, 41 assists, 51 points, and 42 penalty minutes, while also playing in 67 games at the AHL level with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Derek Morris also played for the Rangers, picking up eight assists and 16 penalty minutes in 18 regular season games last spring. New York’s roster does not feature any former Bruins.

- Today is the 617th lifetime meeting between the Bruins and Rangers. Boston currently has the edge in the all-time series, entering this afternoon’s contest with a record of 281-232-97-6. Coming out of the lockout, New York had a significant edge, sweeping the first eight head-to-head matches. The Bruins have responded, winning five of the last eight. However, Madison Square Garden has been a less than friendly venue in recent trips, as Boston has won once in eight tries since the lockout.