Rangers vs. Senators: Lineups, storylines trying to end 4-game skid
The game Wednesday between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden is one where each team sees an opportunity to take advantage of a struggling opponent.
The Rangers (20-21-6) are on a four-game skid (0-3-1) and sit dead last in the Eastern Conference with the fewest points (46) and worst points percentage (.489) of all 16 teams. However, the Senators (21-19-5) are 3-6-1 in their past 10 games, and lost four in a row before a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks at home Tuesday. Ottawa is one point ahead of New York, with two games in hand.
So, this is not only an important game within the conference for the Rangers and Senators, but one each team likely believes they should win.
The Rangers come off a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken at MSG on Monday. They stormed out of the gates, scoring twice in the opening six minutes, before finishing with a whimper offensively. They were out-shot 20-11 and out-scored 4-0 in the final 40 minutes. In the third period, New York had a sickly 13.85 percent expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick.
“So, I think we did a lot of good things last game, but at the end of the day it’s about getting the wins. At some point here, things have got to turn around for us and we’ve got to start bagging some points,” veteran center Sam Carrick said Tuesday after practice.
It’d behoove the Rangers to do so against the Senators, who are one of the many teams currently standing between them and a wild-card spot in the conference. Already in this current skid, the Rangers blew opportunities to take two points from teams slightly ahead of them in the East, losing to the Buffalo Sabres and getting destroyed 10-2 by the Boston Bruins last weekend.
Perhaps, it’ll be a different story against the Senators. The Rangers have points in six straight games against them (5-0-1), including a 4-2 road win on Dec. 4.
“I think Ottawa’s been one of the better teams in the League as far as playing stingy defense. They’re well structured, they’re well coached,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said following the morning skate. “So, we’re going to have to work for every opportunity we get out there. We’re going to have to make sure we make them work for the same.”
3 storylines when Rangers host Senators
1. Latest Jonathan Quick milestone
Jonathan Quick makes his season-high fourth straight start Wednesday, each since Igor Shesterkin landed on IR with a lower-body injury last week. It’ll also be his 800th start in the NHL, just the latest milestone for the future Hall-of-Famer.
What Quick wants more than anything is to get a win against the Senators, and not just because a loss would be the 300th of his NHL career. Not only hasn’t Quick led the Rangers to a victory since Shesterkin’s injury, he’s winless since Nov. 7, a stretch of 10 appearances and nine starts (0-8-2). The last time Quick allowed fewer than three goals was Dec. 21, and his save percentage just dropped below .900 (.898) for the first time this season.
“That’s where my focus is: How can I make another save or two a game to help this team get over the hump? That’s what I’ll be thinking about,” Quick answered when asked about his mindset ahead of the game Wednesday.
2. Weakness vs. weakness
Despite Sullivan’s rave reviews about Ottawa’s defensive play, the Senators are a mess in their last line of defense. They allow 3.31 goals against per game, sixth worst in the NHL. That’s because their goaltending simply hasn’t been good enough and remains the biggest reason why the Senators aren’t in a playoff spot.
Ottawa’s No. 1 goalie Linus Ullmark currently is away from the team for personal reasons. However, even when the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner played this season, he wasn’t very good, with a 2.95 goals-against average and .881 save percentage. Leevi Merilainen started nine games in a row, and stopped 19 of 20 shots Tuesday night. But recently-signed veteran James Reimer might make his Senators debut and start against the Rangers on Wednesday.
Either way, this looks like a good chance for the Rangers to score some goals. New York is 30th in the League, scoring 2.55 goals per game.
Someone’s weakness here should be exposed and likely help decide the outcome.
3. Mika and Bread
Sullivan discussed line juggling and trying to find the best fits with New York’s forward group game-in, game-out. In answering how he goes about making those decisions, Sullivan pointed out that he’s kept Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin — two “cerebral players” in his words — on the same line for quite awhile now, and mixed and matched on their right wing.
He added that there’s no reason to break those two up right now. And he’s spot on there. Zibanejad carries a six-game point streak (six goals, six assists) and team-leading 18 goals into this game. Panarin has assists in seven straight games (two goals, 10 assists), and leads the Rangers with 50 points in 46 games.
Zibanejad has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 20 games all-time against his former team, including a goal back on Dec. 4. Panarin has 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 26 games against the Senators, including a goal and an assist in the first meeting this season.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Will Cuylle
J.T. Miller — Vincent Trocheck — Gabe Perreault
Brennan Othmann — Noah Laba — Alexis Lafreniere
Jonny Brodzinski — Sam Carrick –Taylor Raddysh
Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider
Carson Soucy – Scott Morrow
Matthew Robertson – Will Borgen
Jonathan Quick
Spencer Martin
Rangers vs. Senators: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators
When: Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
How to watch: MSG
