Senators at Rangers
The New York Rangers have answered a sizzling 9-1-1 stretch heading into Thanksgiving by dropping a pair of matinees following the holiday, including a late setback in their last contest that halted a seven-game home winning streak. The Rangers aim to dust themselves off at Madison Square Garden on Monday, when they open a home-and-home set against the Ottawa Senators.
"We've got to keep our heads up, know what makes us successful and just go from there," New York defenseman Marc Staal told reporters after seeing his team get shut out in Philadelphia on Friday and drop a 5-3 decision versus Washington the following afternoon. Kevin Hayes continued his November to remember with two assists against the Capitals, boosting his point total to 11 in his last 10 games. New York could be licking its chops against a generous Ottawa club that has yielded 19 goals during its season-high three-game losing streak and dropped eight of its 10 road games (2-7-1). "We can score goals," coach Guy Boucher told reporters, "but we can't prevent them from scoring against us. On the road, it's a lot tougher, and we're paying for it."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN5, RDS (Ottawa), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (9-11-3): Mark Stone participated in Sunday's practice wearing a full face shield and is expected to skate against the Rangers, the Ottawa Citizen reported. The 26-year-old, whose nine goals trail only Matt Duchene (10) and Ryan Dzingel (10) for the team lead, was hit with a puck during the third period of Friday's 6-4 loss to Dallas. Bobby Ryan set up three goals versus the Stars while defenseman Thomas Chabot added two assists to run his point streak to four games (one goal, four assists).
ABOUT THE RANGERS (12-10-2): Former Senator Mika Zibanejad (team-leading 12 assists) has followed a nine-point performance over a nine-game stretch by being kept off the scoresheet and posting a minus-4 rating in his last two contests. The 25-year-old Swede has scored two goals in two contests against the team that selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2011 draft. Countryman Henrik Lundqvist owns a 16-20-3 career record versus Ottawa, although he turned aside all 20 shots he faced in a 3-0 win on Nov. 19, 2017.
OVERTIME
1. New York D Neal Pionk has collected 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in his last 18 games.
2. Senators G Craig Anderson, who made 48 saves in his last outing, is 12-6-3 with four shutouts and a 1.82 goals-against average in 22 career contests against the Rangers.
3. New York LW Jimmy Vesey has recorded nine points (five goals, four assists) in his last 12 games.