The New York Rangers face the Ottawa Senators with both teams looking to improve from rough starts to the season. The Rangers have a 10-9-4 record and with three losses in a row have fallen to the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. The Senators have an 8-12-1 record which is the worst in the Atlantic Division but they have won back-to-back games. Both teams are looking to improve within their divisions and the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game looks to be a good one as a result.
The Rangers have looked promising this season but hope the offense can improve, scoring 3.00 goals per game with only eight goals in the last three games. Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider have scored 27 goals and 42 assists while Adam Fox is adding six goals and 19 assists from the point, the rest of the offense has struggled. Only five skaters have scored six goals or more while only four skaters have added eight assists or more and opposing defenses can limit the top-heavy offense as a result.
The offense has struggled but the defense has stepped up, allowing only 2.87 goals per game. Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren have combined for 3.2 defensive point shares and 72 blocked shots while Braden Schneider, K'Andre Miller, and Jacob Trouba have combined for 2.9 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. In addition, goaltender Igor Shesterkin has been great this year with a .913 save percentage and a 2.58 goals-against average on 503 shots.