Rangers team scope: Inclement weather across the East Coast kept New York from flying to Ottawa from North Carolina overnight; the Rangers were scheduled to make the trip Saturday afternoon. They did not practice prior to leaving. Forward Derek Stepan, who has a four-game point streak (one goal, four assists), will play in his 400th NHL game. Stepan assisted on the first of two goals by forward J.T. Miller in a 4-1 win Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes; Miller has four goals in as many games. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh also scored to extend his point streak to four games (one goal, three assists). The Rangers have won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 21-23 and will try to win three straight for the first time since a nine-game win streak from Oct. 25-Nov. 15.
Senators team scope: Forward Milan Michalek broke a finger on his right hand in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Friday and is out indefinitely. The Ottawa Sun reported no determination had been made yet on whether surgery would be required. Defenseman Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist, giving him a four-game point streak (one goal, five assists). Forwards Bobby Ryan (three goals, two assists) and Mika Zibanejad (two goals, three assists) also have four-game point streaks. Ottawa has lost eight of 12 and dropped to sixth in the Atlantic Division standings. "It's gut check time for us here," defenseman Mark Borowiecki told the Senators website. "This is when you find out what a team's made of … for us to make that push and stay in that hunt we're going to have to really look each other in the eye and make sure we have what it takes."
