It has been 40 years since the National Hockey League has seen a Bruins vs. Rangers playoff series, but tonight they will meet each other in the TD Garden in Boston. The puck drops at 7:30pm ET and you can watch the live action here for free, or listen here.
All eyes will be on New York Rangers forward Rick Nash to break out in this series, as he has been having trouble finding the back of the net. Nash didn''t score a goal in three regular-season games vs. the Washington Capitals and couldn't break through in seven Stanley Cup playoff games.
Despite the lack of goals from the 28-year-old, Rangers coach John Tortorella says he is enough of a professional to forget his lack of success in the conference quarterfinals and start fresh against the Bruins.
He played really well in Game 7 and really didn't have many bad games in the seven-game series in Washington," Tortorella said Wednesday. "He didn't finish. He certainly wasn't totally on. But he's very close, and I thought he played really well in Game 7. So, yeah, he's playing, and I think he's going to be a really big part of this as we enter into Boston."
The Rangers used their secondary scorers to get by against the Capitals, Brian Boyle and Arron Asham were vital in their advancing into the semis, but Tortorella says that doesn't take any pressure off Nash to produce.
"Higher-end guys are higher-end guys because they want the pressure, they want the responsibility," Tortorella said. "For a team, it helps when your second- and third-line guys contribute, but for the top-end guys, that's why they are where they are, the top players, because they want that. So I don't think it takes any pressure off them. I think they want to be the guy that makes the difference."
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