Game 23: Welcome back, old friend

As the Rangers look to get back to the proper process against a pretty bad Ottawa Senators team, the focus at puck drop will be on the return of Derick Brassard. Brassard was traded to Ottawa this summer in the deal that brought Mika Zibanejad. Brassard spent three seasons in New York, putting up seasons of 45, 60, and 58 points (27 goals in that season) while serving as the Rangers 1b center to Derek Stepan’s 1a. I’d expect some kind of recognition from the fans and perhaps an announcement on over the speakers, but no video tribute.

As for the game itself, this is the perfect opportunity for the Rangers to get back to the right process. They’ve been struggling to maintain offensive pressure and generate crisp defensive zone exits. It’s clear that the absences of Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich have had an impact on the forwards, but it’s also clear that outside of Skjei and McDonagh, no Rangers defenseman can consistently make the right pass to start a breakout.

Senators Systems

Guy Boucher is the new man in town for the Senators. While I haven’t watched much of him in Ottawa, while in Tampa he had the Lightning running a 1-3-1 forecheck, which can be an aggressive forecheck or a neutral zone trap depending on the puck’s location, the score, how much time is left on the clock, etc. He utilized a 1-3-1 power play, which creates four triangles to pass around and take one-timer shots. This system forces the defense to focus on the middle players causing the PK to miss coverages.

In the defensive zone, he ran zone coverage, overloading the boards and collapsing low when the puck is below the goal line. As for the PK, he runs a standard hybrid box/diamond.

Senators Lines

Ryan Dzingel-Kyle Turris-Bobby Ryan
Mike Hoffman-Derick Brassard-Mark Stone
Zack Smith-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Tom Pyatt
Chris Kelly-Curtis Lazar-Chris Neil

Marc Methot-Erik Karlsson
Dion Phaneuf-Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki-Chris Wideman

PP1: Stone-Turris-Hoffman-Phaneuf-Karlsson
PP2: Brassard-Ryan-Smith-Wideman-Ceci

Craig Anderson gets the start

Rangers Lines:

Mats Zuccarello-J.T. Miller-Rick Nash
Chris Kreider–Derek Stepan–Jesper Fast
Michael Grabner–Kevin Hayes–Brandon Pirri
Matt Puempel–Josh Jooris–Jimmy Vesey