derick brassard mika zibanejad

The title of this post sounds like something out of a bad comedy where no one knows hockey and insist touchdowns are scored. However the Rangers have allowed a seven-spot to both the Penguins and the Wild in their last two games, so touchdowns for everyone! Hooray! Luckily for the Rangers, it’s the Senators tonight, and they aren’t very good.

I say this, of course, knowing that the Rangers laid an egg the last time these two teams faced each other, giving Craig Anderson the easiest shutout of his career. With just one game over the past six days, including the most recent three day break, the Rangers have no reason to be tired. The schedule isn’t an excuse (should never have been anyway, every team has these issues), so stop allowing touchdowns. Also, play defense. These are related.

Senators Systems

Guy Boucher is the new man in town for the Senators. I haven’t watched much of him in Ottawa, but it looks like he has the Sens running a 1-1-3 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. As for the defensive zone, I’m unsure what he runs at the moment, but in Tampa he used zone coverage, overloading the boards and collapsing low when the puck is below the goal line.

For special teams, he runs standard hybrid systems. With the man advantage, he runs 1-3-1/umbrella 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. On the PK, it will be a hybrid box/diamond.

Senators Lines

Ryan Dzingel-Kyle Turris-Bobby Ryan
Zak Smith-Derick Brassard-Mark Stone
Mike Hoffman-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

Mike Condon gets the start

Rangers Lines

Chris KreiderDerek StepanMats Zuccarello
Jimmy Veseu–Kevin Hayes–Michael Grabner
J.T. Miller–Marek Hrivik-Brandon Pirri
Matt PuempelOscar LindbergJesper Fast

Ryan McDonaghDan Girardi
Marc StaalNick Holden
Brady SkjeiKevin Klein

PP1: Kreider-Stepan-Pirri-Zucc-McDonagh
PP2: Miller-Vesey-Hayes-Skjei-Klein

Antti Raanta gets the start.

Injuries/Scratches: Mika Zibanejad (broken leg),  Pavel Buchnevich (back spasms), Rick Nash (groin), Adam Clendening (healthy)

Crazy Prediction: Four goals on Devan Dubnyk.

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