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Ottawa Senators vs. New York Rangers
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When: Friday, 7 p.m., Madison Square Garden, New York
TV: TSN5. Radio: TSN1200
Odds: Senators +150, Rangers -185
Looking back at a fleecing
Remember Rangers centre Mika Zibanejad? The former first-round pick of the Senators (sixth overall in 2011) was with Ottawa until the 2015-16 season, when he had 51 points (21 goals). In one of his first trades after becoming Senators general manager, Pierre Dorion dealt Zibanejad and a 2018 second-round pick to the Rangers for Derick Brassard and a 2018 seventh-round pick. Much respect to Brassard, a nice National Hockey League player (32 goals in two seasons as a Senator), but the deal was a disaster for Ottawa, a fleecing for the ages.
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The buzz
The Senators are coming off their best game of the season, thrashing the St. Louis Blues 8-1 on Tuesday at Canadian Tire Centre. But the Rangers, considered by some to be favourites to win the Stanley Cup, aren’t the Blues. Having said that, the Rangers lost 5-3 to Washington on Tuesday. Speaking about the Rangers, Senators coach Travis Green said: “They’ve got a really good team, top to bottom. They know how to win. They don’t have many off nights.”
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Nick’s View
As a Washington Capital for six seasons, defenceman Nick Jensen — who was acquired by the Senators in the summer — saw plenty of the New York Rangers. “I know the coach (Peter Laviolette). I had him (in Washington), so I know their style. I liked his system. It was effective. They have skill, they have guys who know how to put the puck into the back of the net, they have guys who work.” Asked about facing goalie Igor Shesterkin: “There’s no secret (to scoring goals on him), it’s getting to the net. It’s hard to stop pucks when you can’t see them. It doesn’t matter how good (the goalie is), if you screen him, if you tip the puck, you’re going score.” Asked about facing the Rangers’ playmakers, Jensen said: “You play defence, you play in their face, give them no time, no space. It’s hard to play against guys like that, guys who want the puck and who want space. But, if you’re right on them, it’s tough for them to do those things. If you give them time and space, they’ll make plays.”
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The quote
“You saw early on, we’d take a step in the right direction, then we’d take a breath. We have to keep moving in the right direction, build off the previous game. Playing 60 (good) minutes against St. Louis was a good step. Now, we have to keep building win after win and not take a step back.” — Senators defenceman Nick Jensen.
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The news
After moving Claude Giroux to the second line, where he has had success with Drake Batherson and Josh Norris, the Senators are still searching for the right fit to line up with Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk. Ridly Greig is getting a look as the top-line right winger. Stutzle (14 points) and Tkachuk (13) have found another gear this season. Interestingly, former Senator Mark Stone was leading the NHL in scoring with 19 points heading into Thursday night’s games. The Rangers are led by dangerous forward Artemi (The Bread Man) Panarin, who has 15 points (with six goals). A year ago, Panarin had 120 points (49 goals).
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The lineups
OTTAWA
Tkachuk, Stützle, Greig
Batherson, Norris, Giroux
Gregor, Ostapchuk, Amadio
Cousins, Gaudette, MacEwen
Sanderson, Hamonic
Chabot, Jensen
Kleven-Bernard-Docker
Ullmark
NEW YORK
Panarin, Trochek, Lafreniere
Kreider, Zibanejad, Smith
Cuylle, Chytil, Kakko
Edstrom, Carrick, Rempe
Miller, Fox
Lindgren, Trouba
Schneider, Mancini
Shesterkin
The injuries
Senators defenceman Artem Zub (concussion) is skating on his own, but has not practised with the team yet. “Once he skates with the team, he’ll be close,” head coach Green said … Centre Shane Pinto is listed as week to week with an unspecified injury. As pointed out by The Hockey News’ Ryan Hyndman, the Senators’ record with Pinto in the lineup is 76-58-12, compared to 46-65-8 without him … Winger David Perron (personal) still is away.
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The prediction
When in doubt, pick the home team. The Rangers have a 6-2-1 record, while the Senators are at 5-4. Both teams have plenty of offence, but they also have difference-making goalies. This game has a 3-2 feel about it.
(FAN FORUM: Do you have a specific question for a player? Pass it along to Tim Baines at tbaines@postmedia.com and we’ll get some of them in a future edition.)
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