The Rangers lost three of four regular-season games against the Senators, and a major reason why can directly be attributed to Ottawa forwards Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Daniel Alfredsson. The trio of All-Stars, who don’t all play on the top line regularly (Spezza and Michalek on the top line, Alfredsson on the second line), make up the Senators first power-play unit, and accounted for eight goals and four assists against the Rangers this season.
Seemingly ubiquitous on the ice, they combined for 96 goals and 107 assists this year. Ottawa’s 249 goals as a team were tied for fourth-most in the league, which should make the first-round Stanley Cup playoff matchup interesting because the Rangers’ 187 goals allowed were the third-fewest.
“I think especially playing a team that their top guys are really skilled, it is important that we play [them] really tough and hard and don’t give them too much room,” Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. “They’ve been good all year, and we are expecting them to be a great challenge for us in this series.”
Though Lundqvist will be responsible for stopping their shots when the series begins Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, it is up to the Rangers defense to keep Spezza, Michalek and Alfredsson in check.
“They are just really opportunistic,” said Ryan McDonagh, who along with Dan Girardi will play most against the Senators’ top line. “It takes one play and you can find the puck in the back of your net.
“[You] can be going about the game feeling good, going strong. And all of a sudden you don’t get a puck out or one gets away from you and they pick up the pass and it ends up in the back of your net,” McDonagh said. “So we have to be really mentally sharp throughout the whole game and every game of the series to try and keep their chances down.”
Marc Staal, who forms the Rangers’ second defensive pairing with Michael Del Zotto, said Spezza’s strength is creating chances for himself and his teammates.
“[Spezza] is a good player,” Staal said. “He is talented, he knows how to make plays and put the puck in the net. I think as a team, the five guys that are on the ice need to be aware of where he is and make sure you are paying attention in your own zone, not giving him too much room.”
The Rangers know they also will have their hands full with the Senators’ defenders, who are not only speedy, but can score as well. Ottawa had three defensemen who registered 30 or more points, led by Norris Trophy candidate Erik Karlsson, who had 19 goals and tied for 10th in the NHL with 79 points.
“They like to join the rush and offense is created form them jumping in and making plays, so our backcheck is going to be important against that,” Staal said. “Making sure that our fourth and fifth guys are back, clogging up the middle of the ice so they don’t get a chance to make those kind of plays.”
david.satriano@nypost.com
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