In what feels like an almost yearly tradition for the Rangers, they’ll be featured on the league’s annual Thanksgiving Showdown with a matinee contest. This game always seems to feature some combination of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, and the Rangers and Bruins have earned those honors this season with a 1:00 PM puck drop in The City of Champions. This game was originally scheduled to be played later in the day but the ESPN executives thought better of putting the Chicago Blackhawks on national TV the day after Thanksgiving.

Today’s matchup is the first of three between the Rangers and Bruins this season. As members of the MassMutual East Division last season, these teams met eight times with the Bruins winning five of those matchups and outscoring the Blueshirts 22-18. Gerard Gallant will look to do what David Quinn could not, as his squad will look to continue their winning ways in front of a national audience today.

Player to Watch: Chris Kreider

Chris Kreider’s hot streak is going to end at some point. After a multi goal effort against the Islanders two nights ago, the Massachussetts native is up to 15 goals in 19 games after scoring 20 times in 50 games last season. Kreider is currently rocking a 25.9% shooting percentage, so the bounces have certainly been going his way thus far. Look for him to make an impact against his hometown team this afternoon.

Enjoy the game!