Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Rangers/Bruins Series All About Lundqvist

05/16/2013 at 2:13pm EDT

from Sportsnet,

For the Bruins to win: The Bruins will have to continue their impressive faceoff prowess to keep the Rangers hemmed in their own end. New York’s defence has been susceptible against teams with strong forechecking, and Boston won a league-high 60 per cent of its faceoffs in its first-round win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Boston’s top line — Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, David Krejci — combined for 29 points, and the Bruins could use contributions like that against the Rangers. If that troika is contained, Tyler Seguin will need to step up; the second-line centre recorded just one assist against Toronto. The Bruins will also need Tuukka Rask to be outstanding. Boston’s netminder sports a 2.49 goals-against average this postseason. He’ll need to be better for Boston to advance further.

For Rangers to win: Henrik Lundqvist must continue to be the world’s best goaltender. Lundqvist carried New York to a seven-game series win over the Washington Capitals, shutting out Washington for the series’ final 120 minutes. The Rangers would also be wise to score first and more than once; they are 1-3 this postseason when scoring fewer than two goals. New York got goal-scoring contributions from its bottom-six forwards, but it likely won’t be able to survive a series against the defensively disciplined Bruins without offensive output from Rick Nash and Brad Richards. Nash only recorded two assists in the Rangers’ seven games, and Richards was exiled to New York’s fourth line in the final two games of its first-round series, playing fewer than 21 minutes in the Rangers’ final two wins.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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