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BOSTON -- Putting the puck past Henrik Lundqvist is a huge challenge for the Boston Bruins. Of course, they have to get it to him first and thats a tough task against the shot-blocking New York Rangers. "Theyre definitely going to be laying down to block those shots," Boston forward Patrice Bergeron said after practice for Thursday nights series opener. "We have to be aware of that. I think its about finding ways to get that puck to the net and faking shots and moving more." On Monday night, it seemed the Bruins wouldnt have to worry about that. They were close to elimination. Then they rallied from a three-goal deficit in the last 11 minutes of the third period and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Bergerons overtime goal in Game 7. "You dont give up," Bruins forward Jaromir Jagr said Wednesday, but "if you try to do it again, youre probably not going to do it even if you try 100 times, but it happened." Now its time to forget that unforgettable comeback. Its time for the Eastern Conference semifinals, the first playoff meeting between the teams in 40 years. Lundqvist, last years Vezina Trophy winner and finalist for that award this season, enters the series with consecutive shutouts in Games 6 and 7 against the Washington Capitals. He stopped 62 shots in those games while facing elimination. The key to the shutouts? "Box them out before they get (near the goal) so they cant provide a screen," Rangers defenceman Dan Girardi said. "If we cant box them out, the biggest thing is getting (at) their sticks. Hankie is going to stop that shot if he sees it. We have to do a good job of letting Hankie see those first shots, make sure theres no tips." Girardi led the NHL this season with 125 blocked shots, just under three per game. The Rangers were sixth with 16.1 per game. And in the playoffs, they have three of the top seven shot blockers -- Girardi in second place with 24, Ryan McDonagh in fourth with 20 and Ryan Callahan in seventh with 18. And even though Bruins captain Zdeno Chara can slap the puck at more than 100 mph from the point, theyre not likely to shy away. "Anything they can get to, theyre going to block," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "If they have a chance to block a shot, they are going to block a shot. Everybody." If they do, Chara could make it painful. "Im certainly not going to ask him to take anything off his shot because theyre blocking," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. He wants his players to keep their heads up and watch where theyre shooting instead of just looking down and hitting the puck as hard as they can. "Were going to have to work extra hard to get those pucks through and then get them to reach the net," Julien said. "At the same time, I dont think its a big secret to know that they got a pretty good goaltender, and that traffic in front of the net is going to be something were going to want to do a lot." Bostons Tuukka Rask, a more aggressive goalie than Lundqvist, also has been outstanding in the playoffs. But he could be without three injured veteran defencemen. Andrew Ference missed Games 6 and 7, Wade Redden sat out Game 7 and Dennis Seidenberg played just 37 seconds of the finale before being sidelined. None of them practiced Thursday. "Sometimes its better not to practice and just to play," said Julien, careful not to tip his hand. Rookies Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug all could be active. "Its going to be a challenge for us," Rask said. "It gives these new guys an opportunity to step up and show what theyve got. If I was in their shoes Id be really excited." Both teams leading goal scorers in the regular season -- New Yorks Rick Nash (21) and Bostons Brad Marchand (18) -- were shut out in their first series. But Marchand assisted on Bergerons series-winning goal and Nash seems to be making progress. "He certainly wasnt totally on but hes very close," Tortorella said. "I thought he played very well in Game 7. Hes playing and I think hes going to be a really big part of this as we enter into Boston." Both teams snared some much-needed rest after playing two games in two days Sunday and Monday. Bergeron expects a low-scoring series. Girardi expects it to be physical. "Both teams want to get on the forecheck," he said, "create some momentum that way." Julien wants his team to fight for position in front of Lundqvist, who allowed just 12 goals in seven games against Washington. "They protect their goaltender fairly well," Julien said. "You know hes good enough to stop what he sees. They box out extremely well, so weve got to work hard to take away that vision that he needs in order to stop pucks. Theres going to be a lot of battles, I think, in this series. 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The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country.Niall Quinn believes winning the FA Cup is Louis van Gaals only hope of keeping his job at Manchester United - and even that probably wont be enough.The Sky Sports pundit was speaking after watching Tuesday nights 3-1 win over Bournemouth; a result which confirmed United will finish fifth and miss out on Champions League football for the second time in three seasons.Van Gaal was booed by sections of Old Trafford when he addressed the crowd at the end of the match and Quinn says he will definitely be shown the door if he doesnt end his second season in charge with a win over Crystal Palace at Wembley on Saturday. He has shown determination and grit to at least bring the next trophy in to Old Trafford, he told Sky Sports.But whether hell get time with the fans Im not so sure. I guess he will go into the FA Cup final knowing its an absolute must game for him if hes to have any hope at all of carrying on.His fate is in other peoples hands now and Im surprised its come to that. When he got this job I though he was the type of strong character that Manchester United needed. Is he the person to suddenly change it around? I would have to say, hand on heart, no. Its too much of an ask now. Niall Quinn But whats gone out of Manchester United is the fear. Other clubs always feared them when you played them home and away and over the last three years its been unbelievable.I didnt think in all my time in football that I would come to Old Trafford knowing that the away team probably fancied their chances. Theres something systematic thats gone wrong over the period of time.Is he the person to suddenly change it around? I would have to say, hand on heart, no. Its too much of an ask now. Louis van Gaal reflects on Manchester Uniteds 3-1 win against Bournemouth Quinn expects United to win the FA Cup and says that could prompt the board to give Van Gaal another chance. But he suspects commercial pressures could force them to look elsewhere.He added: It gives hhim a fighting chance because there will be a tougher decision to make at board level.dddddddddddd Louis van Gaal addresses the crowd following Manchester Uniteds 3-1 win against Bournemouth I think youve two things going on here. You have the football side of the club which wants to continue and give their managers time. Theyve built dynasties here in the past.Then you have the commercial people involved and their view would be that they need to energise the football club again from the very top to carry on the commercial goals with no Champions League football. Watch the moment Wayne Rooney scored his 100th Premier League goal at Old Trafford Do you think they can win the title next year and the year after that win the Champions League in the current set-up in the direction the current manager is bringing them on?Thats the question the football people have to answer. They really need to get this decision right. This is a massive decision.Also See:WATCH: LVG speech booedWhen will Man Utds season start?Man Utd 3-1 BournemouthJose Mourinho latest ' ' '