A commitment to defence has been a central theme for the Senators, not just Tkachuk, under new head coach Travis Green. The Senators have the sixth-best goals-against rate in the league, a 180-degree turn from the fifth-worst in the league last season.

Brady Tkachuk does plenty of good things, but his recent offensive drought is becoming a bit of a concern. The Senators will struggle to earn a playoff berth if Tkachuk can’t get out of his funk.

The Ottawa Senators have reached the midpoint of their season, still alive in hopes of ending their lengthy playoff drought. We’ve put together a midseason assessment of everyone’s performance, including the head coach and general manager.

The New York Rangers shut out the Ottawa Senators 5-0 on Tuesday night, but the game was overshadowed by a scrum between Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin and Senators forward Brady Tkachuk.

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin got a little hot under the collar during his team's 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Senators captain Brady Tkachuk bumped into Shesterkin in the crease early in the third period,

New York Rangers superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin charged straight into a melee during the third period of the Rangers' 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

Chaos ensued between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night after Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin went after Senators forward Brady Tkachuk in the third period.

Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves, Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and an assist and the New York Rangers beat the Ottawa Senators 5-0.

The New York Rangers played one of their best games of the season on Tuesday night, beating the Ottawa Senators 5-0 at Madison Square Garden as the Blueshirts c

The Rangers goalie got into the scrum, which made Anton Forsberg consider doing the same. Full chaos in the video below:

The Rangers are on a season-long nine-game point streak (6-0-3), one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets (whom they also shut out last weekend) and two behind the Senators, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens (whom they lost to 5-4 in overtime Sunday). They are physically healthy and their game is healthy again.