by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Oct 22, 2021
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Venue: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON
Where to watch: TSN5, MSG
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Rangers -145, Senators +125
BetMGM: NL
Caesars: Rangers -150, Senators +130
Season record
Rangers: 3-1-1
Senators: 2-3-0
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Rangers - Senators preview and analysis
Recent form
Rangers: won 3-1 at Predators on Thursday
Senators: lost 2-1 vs. Sharks on Thursday
Road hockey is apparently the cure for all for the New York Rangers.
After dropping their first two games of the season, Gerard Gallant's club has reeled off three straight wins and looks like a fast, defensive-first club with really good goaltending.
The Rangers will try to bump their winning streak to four on Saturday when they visit the Ottawa Senators.
New York is coming off a 3-1 win at the Nashville Predators that was goalie Igor Shesterkin make 28 saves, his third consecutive start of allowing just one goal.
But perhaps bigger to the Rangers' start has been the solid start for last year's No. 1 pick Alexis Lafreniere. The 20-year-old forward, entering his second NHL season, scored for the second time in three games and picked up an assist for his first multi-point game this season.
Filip Chytil scored 2:12 into the game to get the Rangers on the board. Lafreniere broke a 1-1 tie at 10:53 of the third.
"I just like to be out there when the game is tight," Lafreniere said. "It was a good game tonight, really physical. In the third period, we knew what we had to do. Like I said, I like to be out there in big moments."
This meeting with Ottawa will wrap up a four-game road trip and five in six to begin the season for the Rangers. They'll return to Madison Square Garden for two home matchups with the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets before playing four more on the road starting Oct. 31 against the Seattle Kraken.
"Gritty, gritty effort tonight," Gallant said. "Tonight, for me, was the toughest game we've played so far this season. Everybody battled for ice, both teams. I thought Nashville was real good. I thought we competed hard. I thought it was a gritty, gritty game and we came out on top."
While the Rangers have contention on their mind, the Senators are trying to establish some form of identity as they continue to develop. Ottawa has alternated wins and losses through four games and is coming off a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks at home on Thursday.
The good sign for the Senators is through four games, defense has been an emphasis. Through three games, Ottawa has allowed two goals or less. Matt Murray had a strong effort Thursday by making 22 saves in his season debut; he missed the first three games due to an illness.
"I've got to give them credit, they did a heck of a job getting traffic to the net," Murray said of the Sharks. "I had a real tough time seeing a lot of those point shots. That's kind of their game; they're really good at that."
The Senators are hoping that they can continue to find some offense going forward now that Brady Tkachuk is back in the fold and signed for seven years. Tkachuk had an assist in his season debut on Thursday after signing a $57.5 million contract on Oct. 14.
"It was definitely high pace. It was an emotional game," Tkachuk said. "Had to be on it right from the start. Thought I got better throughout the game, but definitely an adjustment tonight. It would've been better with the win. I think that was the only thing on my mind, so a little disappointing there."
Prediction
The only problem with Ottawa committing to defense so early is it will tend to limit the Sens offensively. If it gets to a point where talent takes over, the Rangers will do what needs to be done. New York needs to play better competition to see where they stack in the Eastern Conference, but expect another strong showing from Shesterkin to close this road trip. Rangers win 3-2
Betting trends
The Rangers are 12-21 ATS (-10.4 net games on the moneyline) when coming off a road win the last three seasons.
New York is 12-15 ATS the last three seasons when allowing one goal or less in the last game.
Ottawa is 10-23 ATS off a home loss the last three seasons.
Projected lines
Rangers:
Artemi Panarin -- Mika Zibanejad -- Chris Kreider
Alexis Lafreniere -- Filip Chytil -- Sammy Blais
Dryden Hunt -- Kevin Rooney -- Barclay Goodrow
Julien Gauthier -- Morgan Barron -- Ryan Reaves
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth -- Nils Lundkvist
Igor Shesterkin
Senators:
Brady Tkachuk -- Josh Norris -- Drake Batherson
Nick Paul -- Shane Pinto -- Connor Brown
Tim Stutzle -- Chris Tierney -- Alex Formenton
Zach Sanford -- Logan Shaw -- Tyler Ennis
Thomas Chabot -- Artem Zub
Michael Del Zotto -- Nikita Zaitsev
Nick Holden -- Josh Brown
Matt Murray
Statistical leaders
Senators:
Points: Mika Zibanejad -- 5
Goals: Chris Kreider -- 3
Assists: Mika Zibanejad -- 4
TOI: Adam Fox -- 25:25
Goalie: Igor Shesterkin -- 3-0-1, 1.47 GAA, .953 save percentage
Senators:
Points: Chris Tierney -- 3
Goals: Chris Tierney -- 3
Assists: Connor Brown -- 3
TOI: Thomas Chabot -- 26:51
Goalie: Anton Forsberg -- 1-1-0, 2.55 GAA, .935 save percentage
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
