Rangers Vs. Senators Preview: Rangers Return To MSG In Search Of Fifth Straight Victory

The New York Rangers are in search of their fifth straight victory tonight as they take on the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden. Despite the Ottawa Senators being without both Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson, they are still finding ways to win hockey games, and currently stand two points ahead of the Rangers.

VS.

Ottawa Senators (12-8-4) vs New York Rangers (12-8-2)
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY - 7:00 PM
Television: MSG | Radio: ESPN NY 98.7
Opponent's Blog: Silver Seven | Tickets: New York Rangers Tickets

Last night was evidence on how the New York Rangers are beginning to get in a winning groove. The Rangers outplayed the Islanders for the most part last night, but were unable to solve Evgeni Nabakov for the first 55 minutes of the game. They stuck with their game plan, came away with the tying goal, and eventually got the second point by winning it in overtime.

The last time the Senators and Rangers met, the Sens came away with the shootout victory after the Rangers fought back from two goals down to tie the game. There is likely no lineup changes once again, as changing a winning lineup is not an ideal choice. With that said, the Rangers need to keep the energy level high and set the tone early, since this will be their second game of the back-to-back. Get in on the forecheck, put pucks on net, and the Rangers will be a tough team to overcome.

Some Quick Thoughts:

- There was no morning skate today for the New York Rangers, so there was no indication on a starting goalie. Since this is the second game in two nights, I would expect that Henrik Lundqvist gets the night off, and Marty Biron gets his third start of the season. But, you never know.

- Again, no morning skate means we haven't heard anything on Brad Richards either. He stated that he was still trying to get back into form again. We'll likely find out more around game time, but I expect him to miss his third straight game.

Projected Lineup:

Carl Hagelin - Derek Stepan - Rick Nash
Marian Gaborik - J.T. Miller - Ryan Callahan
Taylor Pyatt - Brian Boyle - Darroll Powe
Stu Bickel - Jeff Halpern - Micheal Haley

Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Anton Stralman - Michael Del Zotto
Steve Eminger - Roman Hamrlik / Matt Gilroy

Martin Biron
Henrik Lundqvist

Scratches: Arron Asham (back spasms)