OTTAWA – New York Rangers forward Rick Nash will not play Sunday against the Ottawa Senators (3 p.m. ET; MSG, RDS2, TSN5).
Coach Alain Vigneault said Nash, who is day-to-day, was injured blocking a shot in the Rangers' 4-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, but expects him to play Monday against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden.
"I think there's a good chance he'll be okay for [Monday]," Vigneault said. "We'll see how it goes here in the next 24 hours."
Forward Chris Kreider, who missed the game against the Hurricanes with neck spasms, will play against the Senators.
With Nash out, Kreider will play with center Derek Stepan and J.T. Miller. Mats Zuccarello will play on the left wing with center Derick Brassard and Jesper Fast.Goalie Henrik Lundqvist will start for the Rangers.
Senators forward Alex Chiasson will replace Milan Michalek against the Rangers. Michalek broke his finger in Ottawa's 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Friday and is out indefinitely.
Senators coach Dave Cameron said center Kyle Turris (lower body) and defenseman Marc Methot (lower body) will not play Sunday.
Goalie Craig Anderson will start for the Senators
Here are the projected lineups:
RANGERS
Mats Zuccarello – Derick Brassard – Jesper Fast
Chris Kreider – Derek Stepan – J.T. Miller
Oscar Lindberg – Kevin Hayes – Viktor Stalberg
Tanner Glass – Dominic Moore – Daniel Paille
Scratched: Dylan McIlrath
Injured: Rick Nash (lower body)
SENATORS
Mike Hoffman – Mika Zibanejad – Bobby Ryan
Matt Puempel – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Mark Stone
Curtis Lazar – Zack Smith – Alex Chiasson
Shane Prince – Max McCormick – Chris Neil
Mark Borowiecki – Erik Karlsson
Scratched: None
Injured: Kyle Turris (lower body), Marc Methot (lower body), Chris Phillips (back), Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Milan Michalek (broken finger).
Status report: Stepan will play his 400th NHL game. … Cameron said there are no timetables for the return of Methot or Turris.
Who's hot: Stepan has a goal and four assists in his past four games. … Miller has three goals in his past two games. … Zibanejad has two goals and three assists in his past four games. … Ryan has three goals and two assists in his past four games. … Karlsson has a goal and five assists in his past four games.
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