The puck is about to drop on the 1 p.m. matinee, Bruins vs. Rangers, here at MSG.

Scratch hard-working winger Byron Bitz from the Shawn Thornton-Steve Begin energy line. Bitz suffered a groin injury in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Oilers on Causeway Street. Journeyman Trent Whitfield, the 32-year-old forward, will fill Bitz's spot for the afternoon.

Bitz made the trip here and will continue on to Detroit, where the Bruins Tuesday night face the Red Wings. Julien made it sound as if Bitz's injury isn't serious and his availability will be judged on a day-to-day basis.

Tim Thomas will get the start in the Boston net, his ninth this season after going 4-4-0 in October, with a 2.86 goals-against mark and a .906 save percentage.

Tuukka Rask, who barely had to get his heart rate over 90 in posting the 19-save shutout over the Oilers, took his customary spot on the bench with Thomas back on duty.

Boston coach Claude Julien figures his squad is in for a tougher test here against the Blueshirts than it was Saturday against an injury-depleted Oiler unit.

'''They are very aggressive,"' noted Julien, nodding toward the Ranger dressing room here just off Broadway. ''Their defensemen pinch the walls all the time, they are always five men up [playing aggressively in the offensive zone]. We're going to have to be sharp.''

Some of Rask's better saves on Saturday did not get officially posted as shots on net. He repeatedly made confident, authoratative poke checks around his cage, defusing what might have been prime scoring chances. The increased team-wide confidence, said Julien, rubbed off the on the young 'tender.

''Goalies gain confidence when they can trust the people in front of them,'' said Julien. ''When you stop trusting the people in front of you, that's when we all get in trouble.''

High-flying Ranger forward Marian Gaborik, their top scorer (10-8--18) is in the Blueshirt lineup. He missed two of the previous 14 games, due to his chronic groin problem, which plagued him perenially during his years with the Wild.