Rangers vs. Bruins: Lineups, storylines for Black Friday matinee
Forget about doorbusters and Black Friday sales. There’s something more important going on at TD Garden this Friday, when the New York Rangers visit the Boston Bruins in an intriguing matinee.
It’s the first meeting this season between these Original Six teams, each of whom missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024-25. Last season was a stunning fall from grace for each of these proud franchises, and featured coaching changes and roster upheaval for both.
The Rangers (12-11-2) come into this game with two straight wins and a League-best 10-4-1 road record. On Thanksgiving Eve, they skated out of Raleigh with a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. And a win Friday would be a nice bookend to the Thanksgiving holiday, not to mention a chance to even out the three consecutive losses which preceded this mini resurgence.
They’ll likely need to play a better all-around game than their win in Carolina. Igor Shesterkin turned in a brilliant 36-save performance, and New York made the most of the few scoring chances it had, in one of the biggest wins of the season.
The Bruins (14-11-0) are third in the Atlantic Division, but just one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens, who have three games in hand. They defeated the Islanders 3-1 on Wednesday, despite a whopping 45-14 shots disadvantage. Similar to the Rangers down in Raleigh, the Bruins leaned heavily on their No 1 goalie, Jeremy Swayman, and were opportunistic with their scoring chances on Long Island.
Boston’s lost three of five games since star defenseman Charlie McAvoy sustained a facial injury and had subsequent surgery on his jaw. The 27-year-old Long Island native, who has 14 points ( all assists) this season, is a crucial piece to the Bruins puzzle at both ends of the rink and as a leader. When he was hurt in the second half of last season, the Bruins didn’t get over his loss and collapsed, finishing last in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers took two out of three from the Bruins last season, and won five of the past six head-to-head meetings.
3 storylines when Rangers visit Bruins
1. Black and Blueshirts
The Rangers were credited with 34 hits and 20 blocked shots in the win against the Hurricanes. That shouldn’t be a surprise because they’re conjuring up memories this season of the old Black and Blueshirts from the John Tortorella years
New York leads the NHL with 643 hits and is sixth with 345 blocked shots. Four Rangers had at least four hits Wednesday, led by Alexis Lafreniere, who had six. Will Cuylle, who set a Rangers record with 301 hits in 2024-25, leads them again — and is tied for fourth in the League — with 88.
Matthew Robertson blocked six shots against Carolina, and averages 5.75 blocks per 60, tops on the team. Adam Fox and Vladislave Gavrikov share the Rangers lead with 41 blocked shots apiece this season.
2. Beam me up Scotty
There’s a real good chance that Scott Morrow is on the Rangers third defense pair and quarterbacking the second power-play unit Friday. The Rangers recalled Morrow from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Thursday, and sent extra defenseman Connor Mackey back to the minors after he was a healthy scratch in Carolina.
It makes little sense to call up Morrow unless he’s going to play, especially with Will Borgen still on IR. Swapping him for Mackey just to sit him in the press box isn’t smart roster management. So, all signs point to the 23-year-old dressing against the Bruins, likely replacing Urho Vaakanainen in the lineup, with Robertson shifting back to his natural left side.
Morrow is pointless in three games with the Rangers this season, but did receive considerable praise from coach Mike Sullivan during his most recent recall last week.
3. Rangers must shut down these Bees
The Bruins are middle of the pack when it comes to offensive production, tied for 16th in the League averaging 3.08 goals per game. But their top two offensive threats are among the best in the NHL.
David Pastrnak hasn’t scored a goal in six games, but leads the Bruins with 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 25 games. The 29-year-old superstar, who scored his 400th NHL goal earlier this season, is seeking his fourth consecutive 100-point campaign.
More of a surprise is Morgan Geekie, who’s second in the NHL with 17 goals, and had five in a three-game goal scoring streak before failing to score against the Islanders. The 27-year-old broke out with 33 goals for the Bruins last season, but he’s on a whole other level so far in 2025-26.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Will Cuylle — Mika Zibanejad — J.T. Miller
Artemi Panarin — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere
Brett Berard — Noah Laba — Jonny Brodzinski
Adam Edstrom — Sam Carrick — Taylor Raddysh
Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Carson Soucy — Braden Schneider
Matthew Robertson — Scott Morrow
Igor Shesterkin
Dylan Garand
Rangers vs. Bruins: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins
When: Friday Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. ET
Where: TD Garden
How to watch: TNT/HBO Max
