Boston @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 27, 2019 ) NY Rangers 3, Boston 6

The New York Rangers found the blueprint for success last time out after suffering through a five-game losing streak and look to build off that performance when they host the red-hot Boston Bruins on Sunday. The Rangers went 0-4-1 while recording a total of nine goals before scoring three times in the first period en route to a 6-2 victory on Thursday over a Buffalo team that had earned points in nine of its first 10 games of the season.

“We were patient. We played hard, waited for breakdowns and we took advantage,” New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist told reporters after posting his 451st career victory. “It was great to see. It’s important to understand how you win games in this league.” The Rangers won two of the three matchups against the reigning Eastern Conference champion last season and are 9-2-0 in their last 11 meetings with Boston, which has lost just once in regulation over its first 10 games of 2019-20. The Bruins exacted a tiny bit of revenge on Saturday by posting a 3-0 victory over St. Louis, which beat them in seven games in the Stanley Cup Final this past June. David Pastrnak scored his ninth goal in five games on Saturday and leads the league with 11 overall, while he and linemates Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron have combined for 41 points.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, NESN (Boston), MSG (New York)

ABOUT THE BRUINS (7-1-2): Boston still is looking for some secondary scoring up front, but defenseman Torey Krug continues to produce as he recorded an assist on Saturday to give him eight points - tying him with Bergeron for third on the team. Anders Bjork got a chance in the last two games due to injuries and registered his first goal of the season on Saturday. Tuukka Rask (5-0-1) posted his second shutout of the campaign on Saturday with a 25-save performance and is expected to serve as the backup to Jaroslav Halak (2-1-1, 2.24 goals-against average, .931 save percentage) against the Rangers.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (3-4-1): Ryan Strome scored his first two goals of the season against Buffalo while Artemi Panarin, who was considered the prize of the free-agent market over the summer, netted his team-leading fifth tally in the dominant victory. Mika Zibanejad was kept off the scoresheet in each of his last two contests and has recorded just three of his team-high 11 points in his last six games after registering four goals and four assists in the first two. Defenseman Jacob Trouba (six points) tops the team with 31 shots while Pavel Buchnevich (six points) has posted a club-best plus-4 rating after finishing last season at minus-10.

OVERTIME

1. Bruins C David Krejci (upper body) has missed four straight games and is questionable for Sunday.

2. Sunday’s game is the Rangers’ 2,000th in the regular season at the current Madison Square Garden, which opened in 1968.

3. Boston came up empty on four power-play opportunities on Saturday but is 10-for-32 overall this season.

PREDICTION: Bruins 4, Rangers 3