Six days after the Rangers fell 10-2 to the Bruins on Jan. 10, General Manager Chris Drury issued a letter to fans announcing a roster overhaul.
asserted
Drury → fall → overhaul
Drury began making aggressive moves thereafter, namely trading leading point-scorer Artemi Panarin to Los Angeles.
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Drury → begin → Angeles
In the months since, the franchise has adopted a fresh identity, trading Panarin’s trusty linemate Vincent Trocheck while acquiring sharp-shooter Pavel Dorofeyev.
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franchise → adopt → Dorofeyev
With franchise cornerstones Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox healthy again, the new-look Rangers will debut Tuesday against the same Bruins team that spurred them.
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that → debut → them
The market isn’t sold on the Rangers, pricing them second-to-last to win the Metropolitan Division at 25/1.
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market → sell → 25/1
After all, we’ve all seen the Rangers wallpapering song and dance before; just take the last two seasons that began with playoff expectations and crumbled in disarray, for instance.
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that → see → instance
Rangers vs. Bruins prediction, best bet
Boston lived on the opposite side of the spectrum last year, entering the season as a long shot to make the playoffs and clinching a wild card spot with 100 points.
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Boston → live → points
Marco Sturm’s first season as the bench boss triggered an unexpected chemistry between miscellaneous pieces.
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season → trigger → pieces
Jeremy Swayman rebounded heavily from a rough previous year as a Vezina finalist, and Charlie McAvoy’s health was critical in anchoring the club.
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health → rebound → club
But oddsmakers see all that as a windfall: The Bruins’ market outlook is worse than the Blueshirts’, priced at 35/1 to win the Atlantic and at a longer price of 40/1 for the conference.
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outlook → see → conference
In this game, the Bruins are home-ice favorites despite going 1-2-0 against the Rangers last season.
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Bruins → go → Rangers
While Swayman was sensational in a full season, Shesterkin managed to accompany Swayman in the top five of goals saved above expected per 60 amongst players with at least 50 games.
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Shesterkin → manage → games
He did that with a significant amount of dysfunction around him.
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He → do → him
His life should be easier with a revamped defense in front of him.
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life → revamp → him
Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi address glaring weaknesses as the new second pair.
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Pettersson → address → pair
Pettersson adds the shutdown element that was missing behind Fox last season.
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that → add → Fox
Durzi can retrieve pucks and move them efficiently through the neutral zone.
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Durzi → retrieve → zone
Boston finished 10th in scoring at 3.27 goals per game last season, but repeating that production requires several things to go right again.
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repeating → finish → things
Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie and McAvoy all produced career seasons.
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Zacha → produce → seasons
Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson also bounced back.
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Mittelstadt → bounce → ?
The Bruins replaced Arvidsson with JJ Peterka, but otherwise did little to deepen the offense.
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Bruins → replace → offense
That leaves Mike Sullivan’s squad with a straightforward defensive priority: limit David Pastrnak.
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That → leave → Pastrnak
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Alexis Lafrenière, Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault outscored opponents 14-10 at five-on-five last season, with Perreault emerging as a legitimate creator down the stretch.
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Perreault → check → stretch
From March 1 on, Perreault produced 19 points in 23 games, including nine goals and 15 even-strength points.
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Perreault → produce → goals
J.T. Miller’s chemistry with Doroveyev creates intriguing opportunities.
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chemistry → create → opportunities
Miller is excellent at creating offense below the circles, which could only feed the float-and-fire Russian in shooting areas.
uncertain
which → create → areas
The chemistry remains to be seen, but the Rangers field the stronger hockey team with more incentive to put the dog days behind them.
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Rangers → remain → them
THE PLAY: Rangers moneyline (+100, DraftKings)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post.
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Treppedi → trust → Post
He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.
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that → focus → risk
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