Senators at Rangers
The New York Rangers can clinch a postseason berth in a variety of ways, although the most direct route would be to post their eighth win in 10 games on Saturday against the visiting Ottawa Senators. "Once we clinch, once we get a check mark by our name - if we get an opportunity to get home ice, we're going to work on that," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault told reporters. New York moved four points ahead of third-place Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division despite suffering a 3-2 shootout loss to Colorado on Thursday.
While the Rangers begin a three-game homestand, Ottawa capped its five-game stretch in front of its home fans with a thud as it suffered a 7-4 loss to Montreal on Friday. Zack Smith scored twice as the Senators built a 3-0 lead early in the first period before yielding seven consecutive goals. With just five games remaining on its schedule, Ottawa has little margin for error as it resides seven points behind Columbus for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC (Ottawa), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (32-31-14): Captain Jason Spezza returned to the lineup after being sidelined the last two games with a groin injury, but defenseman Jared Cowen missed his third straight contest with a lower-body ailment. Ales Hemsky is the latest Senator to be hobbled as he left Friday's tilt with an upper-body injury. Robin Lehner is expected to start on Saturday as Craig Anderson was blitzed for all seven goals on 23 shots against the Canadiens.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (43-30-5): Defenseman Ryan McDonagh watched Thursday's game from the press box, but he doesn't expect to be there for long. "I am pretty confident I will be (ready before the playoffs), that's my goal at least," McDonagh said. New York did receive some offensive production from its blue-liners as John Moore scored a goal on his first shift since returning from a six-game absence due to concussion-like symptoms.
OVERTIME
1. Rangers C Derek Stepan, who scored versus the Avalanche, collected a goal and two assists in his team's 4-1 victory over Ottawa on Jan. 18.
2. Senators C Mika Zibanejad has recorded two goals and two assists in his last four games.
3. New York killed off all four of Colorado's power plays on Thursday to improve to 42-for-45 with seven short-handed goals in its last 16 games.