A couple of teams fighting to make the playoffs in the East take the ice on Wednesday, Feb. 5 when the New York Rangers welcome the Boston Bruins to Madison Square Garden in New York.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are scheduled and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups.

Analyzing Wednesday’s Boston Bruins at New York Rangers odds and lines, with NHL expert picks, predictions and best bets.

David Pastrnak has been on absolute fire as of late and actually recorded his 18th career hat trick in Saturday’s game against the Rangers. Pastrnak had six shots on goal in that game and is averaging 4.06 per game this season. The Rangers surrender the fourth-most shots against per game; Pastrnak should get his looks.

If ever there was a MUST game for the Rangers to win it's tonight's Garden clash with the Bruins. We're talking about the New Yorkers staying alive in a playoff race where even a point is insufficient.

Simply, the Rangers want to make a serious push this week before taking two weeks off. They’re 13th in the Eastern Conference, six points out of the second wild card and seven b