Saturday night brings a good measuring-stick test for Ottawa, and it comes with a few big absences on both sides. The Senators host the New York Rangers with the matchup tilted away from the obvious goaltending headline - no Ullmark versus Shesterkin - but there’s still plenty to watch, especially Tim Stützle against Alexis Lafrenière.
It’s been a swingy week in the nation’s capital. Ottawa followed a hard-fought win over the Florida Panthers with a letdown the next day against the San Jose Sharks, and now gets one last chance to finish the homestand on a positive note before heading out on a five-game road trip through California and Buffalo.
Travis Green’s morning skate group had one change from recent looks: Andre Burakovsky was back in the fourth-line rotation with Stephen Halliday and Nick Cousins. Brady Tkachuk was not mentioned, while Thomas Chabot was back on the ice in a yellow non-contact jersey, a sign the Senators are hoping he can be available for the road trip next week. Linus Ullmark, Fabian Eklund, and Nick MacDermid remained out.
New York arrives with its own lineup puzzle. Mike Sullivan’s club lost 5-4 to Toronto on Thursday, and Justin Dowling was sent down to AHL Hartford after that game. Luke Glendening is expected to handle the fourth-line centre role, while defender Matthew Robertson is also in the mix after being called up.
The Rangers are also missing their two regular goaltenders, Igor Shesterkin and Kaapo Korpisalo, both out with long-term injuries. That leaves Ottawa facing either 24-year-old Dylan Garand or 31-year-old journeyman Spencer Martin in net. New York is also without forwards Adam Sýkora, Aidan Thompson, and Joseph Veleno because of injury.
At practice, the Rangers looked close to the group that played in Toronto: Perreault-Zibanejad-Lafreniere, Kartye-Miller-Dorofeyev, Cuylle-Laba-Tolvanen, and Bjorkstrand-Dowling-Raddysh, with Glendening and Rempe rotating in. On the back end, the setup was Gavrikov-Fox, Pettersson-Morrow, with Morrow in for Durzi, and Smits-Schneider.
New York’s roster is built heavily around its top forward and defensive pieces, which gives Ottawa a clear path if it can land the matchups it wants on Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller.
That would leave the rest of the Senators’ forward group a chance to push the play. Gavrikov and Adam Fox are Sullivan’s most versatile pairing, and the expectation is that they’ll see a lot of Stützle, even if that means asking Ottawa’s top center to handle a tough night in exchange for more space elsewhere.
Lafrenière has also taken off after a slow start and now looks revitalized since Artemi Panarin’s departure to the Los Angeles Kings. He leads the Rangers in the categories that matter most, sitting with one more goal than Stützle and one fewer point.
Another name worth tracking is Alberts Smits, New York’s fifth overall pick last year. He has stayed with the big club and has been holding his own next to the physical Braeden Schneider on defence, making him a useful comparison point for Ottawa’s rookie Yakemchuk.
The numbers back up the contrast between these teams. Ottawa enters with 2.64 goals per game, 25.5 shots per game, and a 12.2 percent power play.
New York is at 3.08 goals per game and a 20 percent power play, while also owning one of the league’s best penalty kills at 91.7 percent. The Senators are allowing 2.73 goals per game, while the Rangers sit at 2.42.
Individually, Stützle leads Ottawa with seven goals, eight assists, and 15 points. Lafrenière tops New York with eight goals, while Fox leads the Rangers with 14 assists and 14 points.
Ottawa’s shot leaders are Batherson, Zetterlund, and Cozens with 25 apiece, while Dorofeyev leads New York with 37. On the ice, Chabot’s 25:20 per game stands out for Ottawa, while Fox leads the Rangers at 21:43.
In Other News...
Senators Suddenly Face A Bigger Early Test Than The Standings Show
The early-season picture in Ottawa has become a little more complicated than the standings alone might suggest. The Senators are working through an injury pileup that includes captain Thomas Chabot on a short-term absence with an upper-body injury, while several other players have already come off injured reserve and back into the lineup, giving the club at least some relief as it tries to keep its footing.
The biggest concern, though, is in goal, where Linus Ullmark is now part of the mix on injured reserve after being expected to miss at least the next stretch of games. For a team still trying to settle into its rhythm, losing a starting goalie changes the tenor of the schedule quickly, especially with a few other absences still lingering and the group already being asked to absorb more early-season strain than it probably wanted this soon. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Just Opened A Roster Decision Fans Should Watch
The Senators have opened a roster decision worth watching by placing winger Kurtis MacDermid on waivers after he recovered from an upper-body injury. A veteran in the final year of his deal, MacDermid has logged 307 NHL games across nine seasons and has filled a familiar depth role in recent years, mostly serving as a fourth-line enforcer when called upon.
If he passes through unclaimed, Ottawa will have a straightforward path to send him to the AHL and create some room on the books. For a team still sorting out the edges of its roster, that kind of move is less about headlines than flexibility, and it gives the Senators another lever to pull as they continue shaping the back end of the lineup. [Read more 🡒]