The New York Rangers are 12-3-1 in their last 16 games and have more points than any team since January 1st. They have done it largely without Henrik Lundqvist, who has been out since Feb. 2nd after getting hit in the throat with a puck. Cam Talbot and Mackenzie Skapski have held the fort remarkably well as the Rangers sit near the top of the NHL standings.
Lundqvist has targeted this weekend for his return, but will be on the bench as Talbot's backup against the Senators. Talbot has faced the Senators once in his career, a 4-1 NYR win last season that stopped a Senators 8 game point streak. He will be trying to stop a Senators streak again and avoid being on the wrong end of history as his counterpart is looking to tie Patrick Lalime's record for consecutive starts to begin a career getting his team at least a point.
The longer Andrew Hammond's streak goes, the more media attention he is getting as he was the subject of profiles on both TSN and Sportsnet yesterday due to the fact it was a non-game day.
The Senators need to be careful, because Rick Nash has had a bounce-back season, and sits at 39 goals. He hasn't scored in 7 games so he is due to break out. The Senators hope he waits one more game for his slump-buster, when the Rangers face the Bruins on Saturday.
Speaking of Boston, they will be in tough tonight themselves, as they host the Ducks, who are tied for the most points in the West and are a point behind the Habs in the race for the President's Trophy (as are the Rangers). Leading Boston by a point in the Wild Card race, Ottawa will be hoping for a little help from Anaheim in order to maintain, or even extend, their lead as the season winds down. The team the Senators are chasing for the first Wild Card spot is also in action as the Capitals host the Devils sitting 3 points up on the Sens. The Rangers will have a lot to say about the Wild Card race this week as the play Ottawa tonight, Boston on Saturday as mentioned and then Washington on Sunday.
For the Senators, the lineup is not going to change as Clarke MacArthur isn't quite ready to go, meaning another game with Colin Greening and Zack Smith in the lineup. For all the fear and sky-is-falling hate sent their way prior to and during Monday night's contest, they actually played a pretty solid game for a couple of guys who haven't played much hockey in the last couple of months. They did what 4th liners are supposed to do - get in and forecheck, and they didn't cost their team. There was just one shift that I can remember where that line really got hemmed in and spent significant time in their own end.
The good news is that Mika Zibanejad should be good to go after taking a Mike Hoffman slapshot off the arm in the third period against the Sharks on Monday, leaving the game and not returning.
All eyes will be on Hammond as he faces what could be his toughest test of the streak, against a tough and deep team where he can't expect a ton of goal support. Talbot allowed 4 to the Kings on Tuesday, the first time in 10 starts that he has allowed more than 2 goals.
However, if the last two months has shown us anything, it is to expect the unexpected.
This could also be a preview of the first round of the playoffs, a matchup between two of the hotter teams, and goalies, in the league at the moment.