Pluses, minuses for Rangers-Bruins

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his pluses and minuses for the 2021 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.

The Rangers and Bruins are each playing well heading into the 2021 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown at TD Garden on Friday (1 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, NHL LIVE).
New York (12-4-3) has won six of its past seven games, including a 4-1 win at the New York Islanders on Wednesday. Boston (10-6-0) has won seven of its past 10 games, including a 5-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.
Here's my breakdown of the game.

Rangers

Pluses: Adam Fox is competing for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL, again after winning it last season. He leads defensemen in points with 19 (four goals, 15 assists) in 19 games. Forward Artemi Panarin has scored 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) in 19 games and Chris Kreider should be an All-Star this year. The forward scored twice Wednesday and has 15 goals, including nine on the power play.
We can't forget about Igor Shesterkin. He's 10-3-2- with a 2.24 goals-against average and .932 save percentage and has played every bit like the Rangers were hoping when they groomed him to replace Henrik Lundqvist. Coach Gerard Gallant has done an excellent job taking over for David Quinn this season.
Minuses:Alexandar Georgiev has struggled a little bit and is in a rough patch right now. He's 2-1-1 this season but has a 4.08 GAA and .858 save percentage. It's tough to give your No. 1 goalie a night off when you aren't as confident in the backup goalie. The other issue for them is the drop-off in goals after Kreider. Kevin Rooney, who also scored two goals Wednesday, is second on the Rangers with five goals. It would be nice to see Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and
Alexis Lafreniere
(four goals each), and Ryan Strome (two goals) and company help out with goals.

Bruins

Pluses: The "Perfection Line" of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak is still perfect; the three combined to score five points (two goals, three assists) against the Sabres on Wednesday. Charlie McAvoy is an elite young defenseman and has grown into a leader for the Bruins. The 23-year-old is starting to round out his game by scoring more (three goals, 10 assists), and he plays in all situations.
Goalie Jeremy Swayman has proven he can be the guy for the Bruins. He's 6-3-0 with a 2.23 GAA and .914 save percentage. He and free agent acquisition Linus Ullmark have done a nice job with Tuukka Rask injured and unsigned, and Jaroslav Halak having left for Vancouver as a free agent in the offseason.
Minuses: The second line was great last season with David Krejci as center with forwards Taylor Hall and Craig Smith. With Krejci now in the Czech Republic, Charlie Coyle has been center on the second line mostly with Hall and newcomer Nick Foligno and it hasn't worked out as well as hoped. Though Hall has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 16 games, Smith has scored three points (one goal, two assists) in 11 games and Foligno has three assists in eight games.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. Rangers power play vs. Bruins penalty kill
2.Can Kreider continue to roll?
3.Will Bruins get more from bottom three lines?