Opening Faceoff: Rangers vs. Senators 11/19/17

Today, the Rangers will look to rebound from two straight losses as they battle the Ottawa Senators who also look to rebound from an embarrassing loss against the struggling Arizona Coyotes.

Keys to a Rangers’ victory:

Win Faceoffs: The Rangers have allowed their opponents to get the better of them within the faceoff circle of late. The Rangers have allowed their opponents to win the majority of the faceoffs in the last three games. Mika Zibanejad (51.2%), David Desharnais (58.2%), and Boo Nieves (50.0%) all have faceoff winpercentages above 50 percent. Kevin Hayes lies at the respectable number of 48.5%. The Rangers do have capable faceoff winning centers, andthey will be tested today against the Senators. The Ottawa Senators are the best faceoff winning team in the NHL (National Hockey League) at 53.7%. The Rangers rank sixteenth.

Get Off to a Good Start: The Rangers must be able to get off to a good start. When the Rangers have trailed coming out of the first period they only managed to get one win out of nine games. The Ottawa Senators have scored nineteen goals in the first period this season. Statistically if the Senators scored coming out of the first period, they win the gameĀ 0.857% of the time.

Revenge: This one is simple. The last time the Ottawa Senators visited the New York Rangers was May 9th, when the Ottawa Senators beat the Rangers in six games to advance to Eastern Conference Finals. The Rangers must prove that they cannot be beaten once again on home soil.

Players to watch:

New York Rangers:

rick-nash-and-pavel-buchnevich

Credit: The Ranger Zone

Rick Nash: In Nash’s last four games, he has registered four goals and one assist adding up to five points with an average of 1.25 points per game.

Pavel Buchnevich: In Buchnevich’s last four games, he has registered two goals and two assists adding up to four points with an average of 1.00 points per game. He plays on the Rangers first power-play unit and has one power play point in his last four games.

Ottawa Senators:

2017 SAP NHL Global Series

STOCKHOLM, SWE – NOVEMBER 11: Erik Karlsson #65 and Matt Duchene #95 of the Ottawa Senators share a laugh during player introductions prior to a game against the Colorado Avalanche at Ericsson Globe on November 11, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

Matt Duchene: Matt Duchene has not earned a single point asof yet with the Ottawa Senators. He was easily the Senator’s best forward against the Coyotes and has fifteen shots on goal through three games with the Senators.

Erik Karlsson: Erik Karlsson is arguably the best defenseman in the entire NHL, so the Rangers forwards will have a challenge ahead of them. In his last three games, he has four points, all of which are assists.

Other Notes and Statistics:
Special Teams:

Senators: PP 19.7 (14th), PK 19th (79.6)

Rangers: PP 23.6 (5th), PK 17th (80.6)

  • The Ottawa Senators are 2-0-1 in back to back situations this season.
  • The Ottawa Senators are 4-0-1 on the road this season.
  • Henrik Lundqvist is 15-18-3 in 36 games against the Senators throughout his entire career
  • The Rangers have won five straight on home ice.

Let’s Go Rangers!

 

I am a New York Rangers journalist, avid Blueshirt fan, and a long-time hockey player born and raised in... More about Noah Weiss

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