Saber at Rangers | How to watch, storylines and plot notes

Story lines

1. Keep the momentum

The Sabers will aim to repeat most of the qualities from their performance against the Senators, a game in which they scored first, had success on both the power play and the penalty kill and received 37 saves from goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Tage Thompson said the game was a template for how the Sabers want to play in terms of pace and commitment on defense.

“It’s kind of a textbook game of what we want to play,” he said. “I think in the last couple of games maybe we slowed it down a little bit too much. … We played fast and we outplayed them on their breaks and I think that frustrated them.”

2. A four-line approach

All 12 forwards had double-digit ice times against the Senators, ranging from Zach Benson’s 10:14 to Tage Thompson’s 16:21.

Sabers coach Lindy Ruff said the ice time was the result of a concerted effort to deploy his four forward lines in more even rhythm.

“To me, it looks a little more like a four-line approach, our energy is higher, more guys stay involved,” Ruff said. “We seem to be playing better. The numbers kind of say the same thing.”

3. Scouting by Rangers

New York is 8-2-1 thanks in large part to the play of goaltender Igor Shesterkin and special teams units that rank at the top of the NHL.

Shesterkin, the 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner, leads the NHL with a .933 save percentage (among qualified goaltenders). He has posted 35 or more saves in each of his last three games.

With Shesterkin as his last line of defense, the Rangers’ penalty kill ranks second in the NHL at 92.3 percent — including a perfect 17-for-17 over the last five games. The Rangers’ power play ranks sixth with 28.1 percent.

Artemi Panarin leads the team with nine goals and 18 points.