The Boston Bruins will be in New York on Wednesday night for the first of a two-game set with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The attention of Rangers fans throughout New York and the nation probably won't be on this game, though.
The Rangers and Washington Capitals have had quite a week, to put it mildly.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Capitals forward Tom Wilson crossed the line -- far from a surprise -- on Monday night by punching Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich while he was laying on the ice, and then he threw superstar winger Artemi Panarin down to the ice and punched him several times, too. Wilson then picked up Panarin and threw him down to the ice a second time.
NHL's response to Wilson's antics vs. Rangers badly misses mark
Wilson absolutely should've been suspended for the sixth time in his career and second time this season, but he wasn't. The NHL fined him $5,000 -- the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
The Rangers were livid, and put out a bold and aggressive statement Tuesday calling out the league and, specifically, Department of Player Safety head George Parros.
The league was not a fan of the Rangers' statement, and on Thursday, it fined New York $250,000.
It's really not unfair of the Rangers to question Parros when his department has too often come to the wrong conclusion on hits that needed to be punished but ultimately weren't.
Wilson has been suspended five times and fined on multiple occasions as well. He has refused to change his play style despite all of this previous discipline. So, when he makes a mockery of the sport Monday night and the league gives him just a tiny fine, it's understandable that the Rangers would be pretty upset.
Boston Bruins
Overall, it's been a week Rangers fans won't soon forget.
Ranking Bruins' potential first-round playoff opponents
Wilson's antics were Monday night. The Rangers issued their statement Tuesday. New York shockingly fired team president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton on Wednesday, and then a few hours later the Rangers and Capitals played again and there were six fights in the first five minutes, including a line brawl off the opening faceoff.
The Bruins are going to be facing a worn down Rangers team this week, and that's good news for the B's as they try to climb the East Division standings and secure home ice advantage to begin the Stanley Cup Playoffs.