Rangers committing to ‘playing defense first’ against high-flying Senators

NHL: New York Rangers at Washington Capitals
Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers are looking to have a major bounce-back performance when they host the Ottawa Senators on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Their last game against the Washington Capitals was a blowout in everything but the score, a 5-3 defeat.

The resounding issue was compete level. The Rangers were out-chanced, out-worked for loose pucks, and lost the majority of one-one-one battles.

“If you’re not winning any one-on-ones out there, then you’re not going to give yourself a chance to win a game,” Braden Schneider said Thursday. “I think we get out there and compete for pucks and make sure that we’re playing physical and hard and ready to go. I think that’s the best way you can defend and the best chance to give yourself to win.”

That certainly wasn’t the case against the Capitals, who appeared to be the hungrier team Tuesday. Not unlike how the Florida Panthers swarmed the Rangers during the Eastern Conference Final last spring.

Related: Rangers vs. Senators: 3 things to watch for after alarming loss

Rangers look for better all-around game against Senators

NHL: Ottawa Senators at New York Rangers
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Against the Capitals, the Rangers were outshot 46-19 and gave up a whopping expected goals against of 8.97, while only generating an expected goals for of 2.35, according to Natural Stat Trick. They were out-chanced 48-21 in all situations, and generated only 10 high-danger scoring chances, while giving up 25.

They’ll have to have a much better showing against a fast and offensively-driven Senators team, which is third in the NHL averaging 4.22 goals per game.

“They’re a high-skilled, highly competitive team,” Schneider explained. “They play fast and hard so if we’re not ready to go it’s going to be hard. We have to make sure that we’re bringing our best and we’re playing defense first and working from there.”

Claude Giroux is on a seven-game point streak for Ottawa, totaling 11 points (five goals, six assists), and Tim Stutzle leads the Senators with 14 points (five goals, nine assists). Those forwards are among six Senators who’ve scored at least four goals to begin the season. Brady Tkachuk leads them with six goals, and is second with 13 points.

So, the Rangers can’t make the same mistakes Friday that they did against the Capitals. If it weren’t for another stellar performance by Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers would’ve had no chance Tuesday. Shesterkin made 41 saves, many against high-danger chances, and kept the Rangers within one until Washington scored into an empty net.

“We have world class goaltending, but we have to make it a little bit easier on them,” Reilly Smith mentioned. “Those slot chances are the ones we’ve been giving away too often. (Friday) is a great test for us and a great way to get back into the right swing of things and into a positive outlook on this team.”

The Senators are a run-and-gun team, a play style that has sucked the Rangers away from their defensive approach in the past. The Rangers are so good offensively, that when another team opens up, the Rangers are often willing to play that style too.

While the Rangers are certainly the better team on paper, they’ll have to get back to playing the right way on Friday night. Winning puck battles, bringing a better compete level, and playing better defensively are all things they will need to do if they want to come away with a win on home ice.

“I think winning battles is extremely important, and closing quickly gets everyone moving on the same page, it makes reads easier,” explained Smith. “That’s something we’ve got to get to for next game.”

Dane Walsh is a life-long fan of the New York Rangers. Growing up in the tri-state area, Dane has ... More about Dane Walsh
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