OTTAWA — The Rangers have grown to understand when they come north into this building, the Senators are going to try and be physical and bully them.
So it was no surprise in the midst of Saturday afternoon’s 4-1 Rangers victory at the newly named Canadian Tire Center, there was more than one questionable encounter.
“They play a hard game, they come at you with physicality,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “I think for the most part, we responded real well.”
The first instance came midway through the second period when Chris Neil — the Ottawa agitator extraordinaire who had missed the previous six games due to a hamstring injury — found Dominic Moore with his head down near the benches and leveled him. Moore bounced back up and went at Neil, drawing himself a roughing penalty.
Moore said he was fine after the game, and yet before it, somehow Senators coach Paul MacLean was reluctant to remember Neil having scored two big goals and concussed Brian Boyle on a head shot in their first-round playoff matchup two seasons ago.
“I’m not sure what his history is, but I know he played well against them,” MacLean said. “He scored some big goals against them for us, and we just want him to come in and be Chris Neil. When he’s Chris Neil, he’s effective, he’s physical, he plays a simple game.”
Late in the second period, with the Rangers up 2-1, Cory Conacher ran over goalie Cam Talbot behind his own net, drawing no penalty — just the ire of the Blueshirts superb backup goalie.
“He tries to get under guys’ skin, and he’s good at what he does,” said Talbot, who played against Conacher in the minors and who shouldered him on the way to their respective locker rooms after the second had ended. “I just thought I should have gotten a call on the play and I didn’t get it, so I let him know that I wasn’t happy about it.”
Carl Hagelin seemingly was OK after taking a slap shot from Brad Richards to his thigh midway through the third period. He was attended to on the bench, but returned to the game.
“Other than being real upset at Richie?” is how Vigneault laughed off the question of Hagelin’s status. “I don’t think it’s anything else.”
The Rangers kept the same lineup for the sixth straight game, meaning Michael Del Zotto and John Moore both remained in on defense, while Justin Falk was the only healthy scratch.