Game Day: Senators Host NHL's Best Team Tuesday Night

The New York Rangers are off to an 18-4-1 start to the season, the best record in the NHL.

The Matchup: New York Rangers (18-4-1, first in the Atlantic) at Ottawa Senators (9-10-0, last in the Atlantic)

Faceoff: Tuesday, December 5th, 2023, 7 p.m, (TSN 5, RDS 2)

The Teams: The New York Rangers come into Tuesday's game as the best team in the NHL in both points and winning percentage. The Rangers stand sixth in the NHL in both goals-for and goals-against (per game). 

Meanwhile, the Senators have one of the worst penalty kills in the league at 73.4%, which is 27th in the NHL. It will be up against the Rangers 3rd best power play in the league, running at a 30% clip. Tuesday's game is a litmus test for the Senators to show how close (or how far) they are to becoming an elite team like the Rangers.

The History: These two teams have had some good playoff battles in the past decade, meeting in 2012 and 2017. Interestingly, the Senators lead the head-to-head matchup with a record of 54-43-3-4. 

Last season, the Senators won the season matchup at 2-1-0. Many people would remember the last time both teams played in March 2023. Derick Brassard, in his 1000th game, scored two goals in a 5-3 win against his old team. It was the Sens debut of Jakob Chychrun, who had to hustle to get to the rink in time for the game after being traded by Arizona. It was also Patrick Kane's Ranger debut, as he joined Vladimir Tarasenko in the enemy blue that night.

Mika Zibanejad has been phenomenal against his former team, scoring eight goals and eight assists in 13 meetings. He had a goal and three assists against the Senators last season.

What's New? The Rangers are 8-2-0 in their last ten games, while the Senators have been on a rollercoaster, never winning or losing more than three games in a row all season. The Rangers come into tonight's game on a three-game winning streak.

Head coach DJ Smith knows the challenge the Senators are facing tonight.

"They've got some real top-end players," Smith said. “Zibanejad, Panarin, Lafreniere coming into his own, Kreider. And then their back end is obviously very good. And then Shesterkin is arguably as good a goalie as you have. They're a really good hockey team. I think everyone knows that."

Travis Hamonic believes "less is more" against a team like the Rangers.

"With a group like that on the other side with how skilled they are, and the speed they possess, and kind of game they want to play, you might be able to create more just by keeping it simple," Hamonic said. "From the points or from the walls or trying to cycle down low for our forwards. So, yeah, sometimes less is more."

The Lineups: With Thomas Chabot out, the defensive pairings have changed from Saturday night. Ridly Greig's return to the lineup allows the Senators to bring back the duo of Joseph and Greig that was so effective early in the season. Igor Shesterkin will start for the Rangers, who made 36 saves in the win against the Nashville Predators. Anton Forsberg will go for the Senators, coming off a 39-save shutout against Seattle.

Probable Line Combinations

Tarasenko-Stutzle-Batherson

Tkachuk-Norris-Giroux

Kubalik- Greig – Joseph

Kelly -Chartier -MacEwen

Sanderson-JBD

Chychrun-Hamonic

Brannstrom- Zub

Forsberg