Rangers Bring a Road Puzzle to Ottawa
Perfect at home but shaky away, New York visits a Senators club leaning on Ersson with Ullmark and Chabot out.
Written before the game
Two teams sitting in the East's playoff picture meet in Ottawa, and on paper they look almost like mirror images. New York is 7-4-1 with 15 points, second in the Metropolitan and third in the conference. Ottawa is 7-4-0 with 14 points, third in the Atlantic and fifth in the East.
The Rangers' story is location. They are 6-0-0 at home and just 1-4-1 on the road, and they come in off a loss. Both clubs have won six of their last 10 games.
The Senators also arrive off a loss, a 6-2 defeat to San Jose, and with Linus Ullmark and Thomas Chabot out, Samuel Ersson takes the crease. For New York, the job is finding a way to win away from home. For Ottawa, it is bouncing back in its own barn, where it is 4-2-0.
