The Boston Bruins will try to move two points closer to locking up second place in the Atlantic Division when they play the New York Rangers at TD Garden in the first game of a "Wednesday Night Hockey" doubleheader (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN). The Bruins (46-21-9) lead the Toronto Maple Leafs by five points in the race for second in the Atlantic and are tied with the Calgary Flames for second in the NHL with 101 points. But one team they haven't been able to defeat this season is the Rangers (29-33-13); New York, which has been eliminated from contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, is 2-0-0 against Boston, including a 3-2 win in their previous visit to TD Garden on Jan. 19.

In the second game, the Colorado Avalanche play the Vegas Golden Knights at Pepsi Center (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN). Colorado (34-29-13) is even in points with the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Vegas (42-28-6) needs one point to clinch its second playoff berth in as many seasons since entering the NHL in 2017.
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Bruins glad to be home

After playing seven of their past eight games on the road, the Bruins are home for their next two games; they also host the Florida Panthers on Saturday. Boston went 3-4-0 in the seven road games, a stretch that ended with a 5-4 loss to the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, when they were unable to close out the Lightning after taking a two-goal lead into the third period. The Bruins have spent most of the season forcing other teams into mistakes and making them pay; they were the team making the mistakes Monday and getting burned. Instead of leaving Tampa with the momentum of a four-game winning streak and a victory against the League's best team, they come home looking to regroup after one of their toughest losses of the season.

Bergeron line's brilliance

Patrice Bergeron is enjoying the best offensive season of his 15-season NHL career; he had two assists against the Lightning, giving him an NHL career-high 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists) in 60 games. He's also winning 56.6 percent of his face-offs, leads the Bruins with a plus-26 rating and arguably is the best two-way player in the League. He centers one of the best lines in the NHL, with left wing Brad Marchand, who is tied for fifth in the League with 94 points (34 goals, 60 assists) in 75 games) and right wing David Pastrnak, who has 72 points (33 goals, 39 assists) in 60 games. They are Boston's go-to players, work well together as a unit and make life difficult for any opponent because they are among the League's best at driving play and capitalizing on the chances they generate.

Growing pains for Rangers

This already was going to be a rebuilding season for the Rangers. But injuries and trades have given even more opportunities for younger players to show what they can do. Among those players are New York's two picks in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft, forwards Lias Andersson (No. 7), 20, and Filip Chytil (No. 21), 19, as well as 23-year-old forward Brendan Lemieux (acquired from the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 25), 23-year-old defenseman Tony DeAngelo and 23-year-old goalie Alexandar Georgiev. It's been a tough first season in the NHL for coach David Quinn, who came to New York after five seasons at Boston University. A 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday encapsulated the season for the Rangers: They had a fast start in scoring the game's first two goals followed by some stretches of solid play, but too many letdowns to beat a more talented team.

Stone trade sparks Golden Knights

Vegas hasn't been the same team since acquiring forward Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 25. The Golden Knights are 10-2-1 and have a plus-21 goal differential in the 13 games he's played. Stone has eight points (four goals, four assists) and a plus-4 in 13 games. His presence has allowed coach Gerard Gallant to spread ice time more evenly and made them deeper offensively. Since Stone's arrival, the Golden Knights have looked more like the team that took the NHL by storm in its first season and have Vegas fans dreaming of a return to the Stanley Cup Final.

Grubauer revives Colorado's season

The Avalanche went from being one of the best teams in the NHL through the first 2 1/2 months of the season to one that was on the outside looking in at the playoffs by early March. But the decision by coach Jared Bednar to give goalie Philipp Grubauer more playing time was a turning point. Grubauer made 18 saves in a 3-0 victory against the Buffalo Sabres on March 9 and is 5-1-1 in seven starts, allowing two goals or fewer in all of them. He was NHL Third Star for the week ending March 24 after going 3-0-1 and allowing six goals in four games, helping Colorado climb back into the second Western wild card, and figures to carry the load the rest of the way.