Senators at Rangers preview

SENATORS (8-4-6) at RANGERS (9-9-2)
7 p.m. ET; SN, MSG, TVA Sports, NHL.TV

The Senators were defeated in back-to-back games at home, including 3-2 in overtime against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. They lost 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
Center Matt Duchene has no points in four games since Ottawa acquired him in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 5. He has 20 shots on goal, including 18 in his past three games.

Players to watch

Senators forward Bobby Ryan has no points in two games since returning from a broken finger. He has been on a line with Duchene. Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said they've looked outstanding but haven't finished.
Rangers forward J.T. Miller, who has played most of his shifts on the wing, is expected to play center. He has won 57.9 percent of his faceoffs this season (95 of 164).

They said it

"Last year we had 21 points at this time after 18 games and [this season] we have 22. So, if you have one more point a monthly until the end of the year that's over 100 points, that's a lot of points." -- Guy Boucher
"We went from a first 10-game segment, where we were 2-6-2, obviously had a lot of room for improvement, to this last 10-game segment, where we were 7-3. We lost our last two games, but we are going into the third [period] in both those games and we're one defensive play or one offensive play away from coming out of there with a win. So, we did some good things. We're starting a new segment." -- Rangers coach Alain Vigneault

Senators projected lineup

Tom Pyatt -- Matt Duchene -- Bobby Ryan
Ryan Dzingel -- Derick Brassard -- Mark Stone
Mike Hoffman -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Christopher DiDomenico
Nick Paul
-- Nate Thompson -- Alexandre Burrows
Fredrik Claesson -- Erik Karlsson
Dion Phaneuf -- Johnny Oduya
Mark Borowiecki -- Cody Ceci
Craig Anderson
Mike Condon
Scratched:Ben Harpur
Injured:Zack Smith (thumb), Chris Wideman (groin)

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Pavel Buchnevich
Michael Grabner -- J.T. Miller -- Mats Zuccarello
Rick Nash -- Kevin Hayes -- Jesper Fast
Jimmy Vesey -- Boo Nieves -- Paul Carey
Ryan McDonagh -- Nick Holden
Brady Skjei -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal -- Brendan Smith
Henrik Lundqvist
Ondrej Pavelec
Scratched:David Desharnais, Steven Kampfer
Injured:None

Status report

Desharnais will be scratched for the first time this season. … Boucher said he'll use Paul to give Ottawa a lineup featuring 12 forwards and six defensemen after using an 11-7 setup the past four games. He said he wants 12 forwards because the Senators are playing the second game of a back to back.

Stat pack

The Senators are 2-6 in games decided after regulation. They were leading or tied going into the third period in five of the six losses.