Rangers at Senators preview
Lundqvist tries to move into fifth on NHL wins list; Ottawa eyes seventh victory in nine games
by Callum Fraser / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
RANGERS (9-8-2) at SENATORS (10-11-1)
7:30 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5, MSG, NHL.TV
The Game
Henrik Lundqvist will try to move past Curtis Joseph into fifth place for goalie wins in NHL history when the New York Rangers play the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday.
It would be Lundqvist's 455th win. Win No. 454 came when Lundqvist made 30 saves in New York's 4-1 victory against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
The Senators will try for their seventh win in nine games; they are 6-2-0 in their past eight after going 3-6-1 in their previous 10. Anders Nilsson will start in goal for Ottawa; he's 5-1-0 with a .930 save percentage in his past six games.
Players to watch
Rangers forward Artemi Panarin has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) during a 12-game point streak.
Senators forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau has 10 goals in his past 10 games.
They said it
"I know one day you'll look back at it and appreciate it. I do now as well, but you just move on and be ready for the next game and keep pushing. I've had a lot of fun playing this game in New York for so many years, but at the same time, you just go to the next day, the next challenge, the next game. That's what I'm trying to do." -- Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist on the prospect of moving into fifth place in wins in NHL history
"Maybe some chemistry, going down through all four lines. I think we just weren't gelling as well (the first 10 games), but I think for the past 10 games, the chemistry has been there for most games. When you're gelling well off the ice, it really translates on the ice." -- Senators forward Anthony Duclair on how Ottawa has rebounded after a slow start
Rangers projected lineup
Artemi Panarin -- Ryan Strome -- Jesper Fast
Chris Kreider -- Filip Chytil -- Pavel Buchnevich
Brendan Lemieux -- Brett Howden -- Kaapo Kakko
Tim Gettinger -- Greg McKegg -- Brendan Smith
Libor Hajek -- Jacob Trouba
Brady Skjei -- Tony DeAngelo
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
Henrik Lundqvist
Alexandar Georgiev
Scratched: Micheal Haley
Injured: Mika Zibanejad (upper body), Marc Staal (ankle)
Senators projected lineup
Brady Tkachuk -- Logan Brown -- Anthony Duclair
Tyler Ennis -- Chris Tierney -- Colin White
Nick Paul -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Connor Brown
Filip Chlapik -- J.C. Beaudin -- Max Veronneau
Thomas Chabot -- Dylan DeMelo
Maxime Lajoie -- Ron Hainsey
Mark Borowiecki -- Christian Jaros
Anders Nilsson
Craig Anderson
Scratched: Mikkel Boedker, Nikita Zaitsev
Injured: Scott Sabourin (nose), Artem Anisimov (groin), Vladislav Namestnikov (back), Erik Brannstrom (thumb), Cody Goloubef (undisclosed)
Status report
Rangers coach David Quinn doesn't expect Zibanejad to play on New York's two-game trip, which concludes in Montreal on Saturday, when Georgiev is likely to start in the second of a back-to-back set. … Zaitsev is tending to a personal issue in Russia, but is expected to play Monday at the Columbus Blue Jackets. Namestnikov was placed on injured reserve after being checked awkwardly into the boards by Canadiens defenseman Cale Fleury on Wednesday. Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said Namestnikov will be out "a couple weeks." The Senators recalled Beaudin, Lajoie and Jaros from Belleville of the American Hockey League.
Stat pack
The Rangers are 4-2-1 in their past seven games. … Pageau has 10 goals in November; he needs three to tie the Senators record for most goals in a month, a mark set by Daniel Alfredsson with 13 in November 2005.