Rangers at Senators
Off to the best start in franchise history, the white-hot New York Rangers go for their eighth consecutive victory when they visit the Ottawa Senators for a Saturday matinee. The Rangers extended their point streak to 11 games with a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday - the first time they allowed more than two goals since Oct. 15.
Mats Zuccarello had a goal and two assists in Thursday's victory to boost his team-high point total to 15 for New York, which has outscored its opponents 27-9 during the winning streak. "He's playing at such a high level right now. It starts with his compete level," center Derek Stepan said of Zuccarello. "He competes so hard." Ottawa rallied to beat visiting Vancouver for its first regulation victory at Canadian Tire Center in the opener of a five-game homestand. It marked the first time in four games that the Senators did not squander a third-period lead.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), RDS, TSN5 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (12-2-2): Unlike Ottawa, New York has no issues closing out games - the Rangers are 10-0-0 when taking a lead into the third period this season and were 36-0-1 in this situations last season. "It's doing the right thing to be conditioned for the third period, bearing down and making plays," defenseman Dan Girardi said. "In the first and second periods, I feel we just kind of play, and the third period comes and we start making those smart plays." Forward Rick Nash had his second consecutive two-point performance since missing two games due to tightness in his back.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (8-5-3): Defenseman Erik Karlsson failed to score in the first 14 games but the team captain has captain alive by scoring a goal and setting up another in each of the past two contests to give him 16 points - tied for the league lead among NHL blue-liners. Bobby Ryan is also heating up with five goals in his last eight games while center Mika Zibanejad has an assist in four straight contests. Goaltender Andrew Hammond, whose only career regulation defeat was at the hands of the Rangers, will sit out Saturday in favor of veteran Craig Anderson.
OVERTIME
1. Nash has scored nine goals in 15 games versus Ottawa.
2. Anderson is 7-4-1 with a 2.01 goals-against average versus New York.
3. Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist, a winner of five straight starts, is 13-16-3 with a 2.16 GAA versus Ottawa.