NHL

Rangers take top penalty kill into game against Senators

Few teams have been able to find advantages against the NHL-leading Rangers, and even when opponents are given an upper hand, it hasn’t mattered.

The Rangers, winners of five straight and 10 of their past 11 games, enter tonight’s game with the Senators at Madison Square Garden having not allowed a power-play goal in seven straight games (16-for-16). In their past 16 games, the Rangers’ penalty-kill is 41-for-45 (91.1 percent), with five shorthanded goals.

Rising from the 10th-ranked penalty-kill last season (83.7) to a tie for fourth this season (86.8), the Rangers believe they are improving their understanding of it because of a better understanding of each other.

“It is a chemistry,” Brian Boyle said, “You don’t usually think of it that way on a penalty-kill, but it is. Pretty much the same guys have been killing together for the last couple years now. We know where we’re going to be, we know what to do and if a guy’s not where he normally is, we know something might’ve happened and we can bail him out.”

Defenseman Ryan McDonagh said he has seen the cohesiveness create confidence.

“It’s a mentality thing, for sure, and the guys who are out there take a lot of pride in it because it’s a huge part of the game,” McDonagh said after yesterday’s practice. “We work on it on video a lot. A lot of it is our positioning and system and our goalie making big saves when we need them to. Our system relies on our goalie taking a shot from the outside and not having screens, so if we can do that, it gives them a good chance to stop it.”

There isn’t much Henrik Lundqvist hasn’t stopped recently. The Rangers goaltender is riding a career-high seven-game win streak, while posting a 1.13 goals against average and .962 save percentage in that span. He is 1-0-1 with a 2.88 GAA against the Senators (23-15-6) this season, who enter tonight’s game having won six of their past seven games.

* Brandon Dubinsky, who injured his right shoulder in Tuesday’s game, did not practice and will be a game-time decision tonight. Coach John Tortorella said the 25-year-old’s shoulder is “just sore.” Defenseman Jeff Woywitka also did not practice (foot).

* Forward Erik Christensen practiced with the team, but has accepted a conditioning assignment with Connecticut (AHL), having been a healthy scratch in 10 straight games and 18 of the past 22.