The wild end t0 New York’s season is almost behind them, as the Rangers will miss the playoffs and play their final game of the regular season in Boston on Saturday.  The Bruins have clinched a fifth straight trip to the post season, but there’s still something to play for as they try to overtake Washington in the standings and earn home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

After shutting out New York 4-0 on Thursday, the Bruins are -282 favourites to win on the NHL odds for Saturday’s matchup.  The total is set at 5.5.

Rangers vs. Bruins Betting Analysis

Boston has had the upper-hand in this season series, winning five of seven meetings against the Rangers and shutting out New York in three of those wins.  The total has gone Under in six of the seven games in this season series.

With heavy league fines, injuries, line brawls and suspensions, it’s been a wild end of the season for New York.  The Rangers have dropped five straight games overall and are 2-9 straight up in their last 11 games against Boston.  They have, however, been a pretty good cover option at 34-21 against the spread this year.  The total has gone Under in six of New York’s last nine games overall and seven of their last nine on the road.

The Bruins are tough to beat at home this year and have won seven straight games at TD Garden.  For the season they’re 22-31 ATS.  Boston has split the Over/Under evenly over their last 10 games.

New York Rangers

After a massive league fine and a front office shakeup, it’s been an interesting week for the Rangers.  New York should have a better effort on Saturday, as the game on Thursday was less than 24 hours after a fight-filled contest against Washington.  Pavel Buchnevich will be back in the lineup on Saturday after serving a one-game suspension for his actions in the Washington game.  The Rangers only managed to get 15 shots on net against Boston on Thursday.  Igor Shesterkin looked sharp between the pipes, stopping 30 shots for a New York team that was outshot 19-3 in the second period alone.

New York will be without their leading scorer for this game.  Artemi Panarin has been out of the lineup with a lower-body injury suffered during the scrum against the Capitals, which led to the Rangers’ public statement criticizing the league and their eventual $250,000 fine.  Panarin will finish his season with 58 points (17G, 41A) in 42 games.

Boston Bruins

Boston is only two points behind the Capitals for second in the East Division and with one game in-hand over Washington, the Bruins are fighting for home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.  Patrice Bergeron, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk and Brandon Carlo picked up the goals on Thursday.  DeBrusk’s marker was his first goal in 13 games, while Bergeron’s point streak is now at five games (4G, 2A).  Brad Marchand assisted on the first two goals of the game and now leads the team with 65 points (27G, 38A).  Marchand is tied with Nathan MacKinnon for fourth in league scoring.

Jeremy Swayman has been a nice surprise for Boston this year.  The rookie goalie posted his second career shutout on Thursday.  Swayman is 7-2-0 this year with a 1.44 goals-against average and .946 save percentage.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Rangers vs. Bruins?

• Regular Season
• Playoffs

Rangers Team Leaders

NYR

Points	Artemi Panarin 58
+ / -	Ryan Lindgren 20
Shots	Mika Zibanejad 171
Penalty Mins	Brendan Smith 73
Wins	Igor Shesterkin 16
GAA	Keith Kinkaid 2.59

BOS

Points	Brad Marchand 69
+ / -	Patrice Bergeron 27
Shots	Patrice Bergeron 182
Penalty Mins	Trent Frederic 65
Wins	Tuukka Rask 15
GAA	Jeremy Swayman 1.5

NYR

Points
+ / -
Shots	Did not qualify
Penalty Mins
Wins
GAA

BOS

Points	David Pastrnak 15
+ / -	Mike Reilly 3
Shots	David Pastrnak 52
Penalty Mins	Brad Marchand 12
Wins	Tuukka Rask 6
GAA	Tuukka Rask 2.36

• Regular Season
• Playoffs

Bruins Team Leaders

NYR

Points	Artemi Panarin 58
+ / -	Ryan Lindgren 20
Shots	Mika Zibanejad 171
Penalty Mins	Brendan Smith 73
Wins	Igor Shesterkin 16
GAA	Keith Kinkaid 2.59

BOS

Points	Brad Marchand 69
+ / -	Patrice Bergeron 27
Shots	Patrice Bergeron 182
Penalty Mins	Trent Frederic 65
Wins	Tuukka Rask 15
GAA	Jeremy Swayman 1.5

NYR

Points
+ / -
Shots	Did not qualify
Penalty Mins
Wins
GAA

BOS

Points	David Pastrnak 15
+ / -	Mike Reilly 3
Shots	David Pastrnak 52
Penalty Mins	Brad Marchand 12
Wins	Tuukka Rask 6
GAA	Tuukka Rask 2.36

Injuries

NY Rangers

Kaapo Kakko (RW)

Out Sat Undisclosed - 08 / 05 / 21

Brendan Smith (D)

Out Sat Lower Body - 08 / 05 / 21

Pavel Buchnevich (RW)

Elig Sat Suspension - 06 / 05 / 21

Julien Gauthier (RW)

out for season Lower Body - 06 / 05 / 21

Artemi Panarin (LW)

out for season Lower Body - 04 / 05 / 21

Brett Howden (C)

out for season Foot - 30 / 04 / 21

Ryan Lindgren (D)

out for season Upper Body - 30 / 04 / 21

Chris Kreider (LW)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 29 / 04 / 21

Colin Blackwell (C)

Prob Tues Undisclosed - 26 / 04 / 21

Jacob Trouba (D)

out for season Upper Body - 20 / 04 / 21

Boston

Tuukka Rask (G)

Ques Wed Undisclosed - 08 / 06 / 21

Curtis Lazar (C)

Out Wed Lower Body - 07 / 06 / 21

Brad Marchand (LW)

Prob Sat Undisclosed - 05 / 06 / 21

Brandon Carlo (D)

Out Wed Upper Body - 04 / 06 / 21

Tuukka Rask (G)

Prob Thurs Undisclosed - 02 / 06 / 21

Craig Smith (RW)

Ques Thurs Lower Body - 30 / 05 / 21

Steven Kampfer (D)

out for season Hand - 23 / 05 / 21

Kevan Miller (D)

Out indefinitely Head - 21 / 05 / 21

Jeremy Lauzon (D)

Prob Sat Hand - 16 / 05 / 21

Matt Grzelcyk (D)

Out Tues Rest - 11 / 05 / 21

Injuries

NY Rangers

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Kaapo Kakko (RW)	Out Sat	Undisclosed - 08 / 05 / 21	0-1	0-1	+ -
Kakko is tending to an undisclosed issue, and he will not be active for Saturday's tilt against the Bruins.
Brendan Smith (D)	Out Sat	Lower Body - 08 / 05 / 21	0-1	0-1	+ -
Smith is bothered by a lower-body injury, and he will not take the ice on Saturday versus the Bruins.
Pavel Buchnevich (RW)	Elig Sat	Suspension - 06 / 05 / 21	0-2	0-1-1	+ -
Buchnevich is serving a one-game suspension for high-sticking, and he is eligible to return against the Bruins on Saturday.
Julien Gauthier (RW)	out for season	Lower Body - 06 / 05 / 21	0-2	0-1-1	+ -
Gauthier will sit out the remainder of the 2020-21 season with a lower-body injury.
Artemi Panarin (LW)	out for season	Lower Body - 04 / 05 / 21	0-3	1-1-1	+ -
Panarin is expected to miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season with a lower-body injury.
Brett Howden (C)	out for season	Foot - 30 / 04 / 21	0-5	1-3-1	+ -
Howden is bothered by a fractured foot, and he will miss the remainder of the season.
Ryan Lindgren (D)	out for season	Upper Body - 30 / 04 / 21	0-5	1-3-1	+ -
Lindgren is expected to miss the rest of the 2020-21 season due to an upper-body injury.
Chris Kreider (LW)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 29 / 04 / 21	1-5	1-4-1	+ -
Kreider is out of commission with a lower-body injury, and there is no timetable for recovery.
Colin Blackwell (C)	Prob Tues	Undisclosed - 26 / 04 / 21	2-5	2-4-1	+ -
Blackwell is battling an undefined injury, but he is projected to suit up for Tuesday's contest versus the Sabres.
Jacob Trouba (D)	out for season	Upper Body - 20 / 04 / 21	4-7	4-6-1	+ -
Trouba is out of commission with an upper-body injury, and he will miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season.

Boston

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Tuukka Rask (G)	Ques Wed	Undisclosed - 08 / 06 / 21	0-1	1-0	+ -
Rask is managing an undefined injury, and it is undetermined if he will take on the Islanders in Game 6 of the East Division finals.
Curtis Lazar (C)	Out Wed	Lower Body - 07 / 06 / 21	0-2	1-0-1	+ -
Lazar is hampered by a lower-body injury, and he will not lace up for Game 6 of the East Division finals versus the Islanders.
Brad Marchand (LW)	Prob Sat	Undisclosed - 05 / 06 / 21	0-3	1-1-1	+ -
Marchand is expected to take on the Islanders for Game 4 of the East Division finals despite an unspecified injury.
Brandon Carlo (D)	Out Wed	Upper Body - 04 / 06 / 21	0-3	1-1-1	+ -
Carlo is dealing with an upper-body injury, and he will not suit up against the Islanders for Game 6 of the East Division finals.
Tuukka Rask (G)	Prob Thurs	Undisclosed - 02 / 06 / 21	0-4	2-1-1	+ -
Rask is expected to tend the twine against the Islanders in Game 3 of the East Division final despite multiple nagging injuries.
Craig Smith (RW)	Ques Thurs	Lower Body - 30 / 05 / 21	1-4	3-1-1	+ -
Smith is battling an lower-body injury, and it is unclear if he will face the Islanders in Game 3 of the East Division finals.
Steven Kampfer (D)	out for season	Hand - 23 / 05 / 21	3-4	3-3-1	+ -
Kampfer is recovering from hand surgery, and he will not be available for the remainder of the season.
Kevan Miller (D)	Out indefinitely	Head - 21 / 05 / 21	3-5	3-4-1	+ -
Miller is out of commission due to a head injury, and he will miss an undetermined length of time.
Jeremy Lauzon (D)	Prob Sat	Hand - 16 / 05 / 21	3-7	4-4-2	+ -
Lauzon is bothered by a hand injury, but it is anticipated that he will be available against the Islanders for Game 1 of the East Division finals.
Matt Grzelcyk (D)	Out Tues	Rest - 11 / 05 / 21	4-8	4-5-3	+ -
Grzelcyk will not be in the lineup for Tuesday against the Capitals, as he will be given a day of rest.