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SENATORS (23-15-6) at RANGERS (27-9-4)
TV: SNET-East, TVA, MSG (HD)
LAST 10: Ottawa 7-1-2; New York 9-1-0
Season Series: This is the third of four meetings, with the Rangers holding a 1-0-1 record in the first two contests. Both have been exciting, with the Senators rallying from a three-goal third period deficit to win 5-4 in a shootout at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 29 in the Rangers' home opener. The Rangers responded Nov. 9 with a 3-2 win at Scotiabank Place.
Big Story: Two of the NHL's hottest teams are meeting for the first time in more than two months. The Rangers have won five straight and 10 of 11 while the Senators are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games.
Team Scope:
Senators: A 10-game road swing with one home game sprinkled into the mix started Tuesday in Pittsburgh. The Senators started off the right way, pasting the Penguins 5-1.
A contest against the No. 1 team in the NHL could be looked at as a measuring-stick game, but center Jason Spezza instead is looking at this road swing as the measuring stick.
"This whole trip is. We're not going to live or die by one game," Spezza said. "This trip is a measuring stick for us. This is a real tough trip, and we're just trying to be real short-sighted with how we approach it, because it can be a real daunting task if you look at the big picture. It's definitely a big game for us, but we're kind of using the whole trip as the test."
Rangers: It was another complete performance against the Coyotes on Tuesday, a 2-1 shootout victory in which the Rangers received a contribution from outside their top two lines.
Ruslan Fedotenko scored the Rangers' only goal in regulation. Along with Brian Boyle and Carl Hagelin, the third line was the Rangers' best for long stretches. Derek Stepan netted the shootout winner in the sixth round, but it was depth that helped the Rangers stay hot.
"Feds has been playing well, but hasn't been rewarded," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "Boyle put up a few chances tonight, but still isn't rewarded. I thought it was one of our better lines."
Who's Hot: Since arriving in a trade, Senators forward Kyle Turris has one goal and seven assists in 11 games.
Injury Report: The Senators are without forwards Peter Regin (shoulder) and Jesse Winchester (concussion). Defenseman Erik Karlsson missed Tuesday's game with an upper-body injury, but he's expected to be back against the Rangers. … The Rangers are still without defensemenMichael Sauer (concussion) and Steve Eminger (shoulder).
Stat Pack: The Senators and Rangers are the League's two best teams when trailing after two periods. Both sport .300 winning percentages, with the Rangers going 3-6-1 and the Senators going 6-13-1.
Puck Drop: " They're a great team. They're rolling really well right now. We're coming off a pretty good streak right now too. It's going to be a hard-fought battle. All we have to do is stick with what we're doing and what works for us. We're not going to focus too much on them. We know they're playing well, but we have to do what we need to do to have success." -- Senators coach Paul MacLean on facing the Rangers
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from the Sun
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Thursday, 7 p.m., Madison Square Garden
TV: Sportsnet East, TVA Sports. Radio: Team 1200
SPECIAL TEAMS
OTT: PP 17.8%, No. 16; 79.9%, No. 25
NYR: PP 15.2%, No. 12; 86.8%, No. 12
LAST FIVE
Rangers
NYR 2, PHX 1 (S0)
NYR 3, PIT 1
NYR 3, FLA 2
NYR 3, PHI 2
NYR 4, FLA 1
Senators
OTT 5, PIT 1
OTT 6, PHI 4
PHI 3, OTT 2 (OT)
OTT 4, TBL 1
OTT 3, NJD 2 (OT)
SIZING UP THE SIDES
Forwards: NYR
Signed as a UFA, Richards has been good fit in NYC
Defence: OTT
Sens will be fine as long as Karlsson plays
Goaltending: NYR
Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the world
Power play: Even
Surprisingly, the Rangers haven¹t dominated here
Penalty Killing: NYR
Rangers are one of the NHL¹s best in this area
Coaching: Even
MacLean and Tortorella have the attention of teams
Overall: NYR
Rangers are the East¹s top-ranked team
LINEUPS
New York
Forwards
Brandon Dubinsky-Brad Richards-Ryan Callahan
Artem Anisimov-Derek Stepan-Marian Gaborik
Carl Hagelin-Brian Boyle-Ruslan Fedotenko
Mike Rupp-John Mitchell-Brandon Prust
Defence
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto-Anton Stralman
Marc Staal-Stu Bickel
Goaltenders
Henrik Lundqvist
Martin Biron
Ottawa
Forwards
Colin Greening-Jason Spezza-Milan Michalek
Erik Condra-Kyle Turris-Daniel Alfredsson
Nick Foligno-Zack Smith-Chris Neil
Kaspars Daugavins-Zenon Konopka-Bobby Butler
Defence
Filip Kuba-Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen-Sergei Gonchar
Chris Phillips-Matt Carkner
Goalies
Craig Anderson
Alex Auld
PLUS
Ottawa C Jason Spezza has led the attack. He has 6-13-19 points in his last 16 games. G Craig Anderson is a 6-0-1 in his last seven games. He has given up 13 goals in that stretch ... RW Chris Neil has goals in two straight games and has four goals in his last 10. Neil is only point short of the 15 he had in 2010-11 ... LW Milan Michalek, who had a two goal performance in the victory over the Pens, is only four goals shy of the 26 he scored in 2006-07 with the Sharks ... C Kyle Turris has eight points in 11 games with Ottawa since being acquired from the Coyotes for D David Rundblad.
MINUS
G Henrik Lundqvist has won seven straight and has allowed only eight goals in that span. He picked up his 39th career shootout victory against the Coyotes. That moved him ahead of Devils G Martin Brodeur on the all-time list ... LW Brandon Dubinsky left Tuesday¹s game against the Coyotes after getting nailed by Taylor Pyatt. Coach John Tortorella said he was fine ... The Senators are 1-1-0 against the Rangers this season. Ottawa scored a 5-4 victory at MSG on Oct. 29th and dropped a 3-2 decision at home on Nov. 9.
INJURIES
SENS: C Peter Regin (shoulder); C Jesse Winchester (concussion).
RANGERS: D Steve Eminger (shoulder); D Michael Sauer (concussion).
ONLINE EXTRA
You can¹t accuse John Tortorella of not getting the most out of his players. The Rangers coach was so upset with the way they were working in practice Monday he threw the players off the ice. The result: A hard-fought victory over the Coyotes Tuesday at home and the club remained in the top spot in the East. "We just figured we¹d start again," Tortorella told the New York media. "We¹ve found ways to win some games, and when you¹re getting points, it¹s human nature to forget about the details. ... That¹s the only way this team can win, making sure they understand their details and stay consistent with it. I¹ve said it all year long. I trust this group. I just don¹t want them to slip. You guys are talking about stuff I don¹t even know why you¹re talking about it. ... We have so much more work to do with this club, and I just don¹t want us to get ahead of ourselves. We¹re heading down the right road. I just want us to stay on the right road and not detour anywhere."
Last edited by Number Twenty Nine on Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:02 pm; edited 2 times in total
