(My Sportsbook) - The Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers will aim for their third consecutive victory when they host the struggling Ottawa Senators tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers had lost four of five contests to begin November, but have rebounded with back-to-back wins over New Jersey and Boston. New York is first in the East with 28 points and second to only San Jose in the overall NHL standings.

After posting an easy 5-2 win in Jersey on Wednesday, the Blueshirts were off until Saturday's home victory against Boston. Chris Drury scored the game- winning goal in the fourth round of the shootout, as New York downed the Bruins, 3-2, at the Garden.

With the shootout scoreless after three rounds, Drury took a wrist shot in the slot. It caught goaltender Tim Thomas off guard, and the puck went right through his legs for the goal.

Patrice Bergeron had a chance to tie the shootout for the Bruins, and the referees originally claimed that he had scored. But the replay clearly showed that the puck went off Henrik Lundqvist's right skate and hit the left post, staying out of the net.

Nigel Dawes and Markus Naslund scored for the Rangers, while Lundqvist allowed two goals on 25 shots. New York was awful on its power-play despite the victory, failing on all six chances it had, including two 5-on-3 opportunities.

Former Senators defenseman Wade Redden will play his first game against his old team since signing a six-year, $39 million deal with the Rangers in the offseason. Redden was drafted by Ottawa in 1995 and played his entire career with the Sens before departing this summer.

In injury news, Rangers center Scott Gomez has missed the last two games with a bruised ankle and is questionable for this evening's contest.

Tonight marks the middle segment of a three-game homestand for New York, which is 8-3-1 at MSG this season. The Rangers will wrap the residency Wednesday night against Vancouver.

Ottawa, meanwhile, has lost four straight games, all in regulation, and was recently swept in a home-and-home series with the New York Islanders. After dropping the home portion by a 3-1 count on Thursday, the Senators were handed a 3-2 decision Saturday evening on Long Island as Jon Sim recorded a goal and an assist to lift the Isles.

Dany Heatley had a goal and an assist and Jason Spezza lit the lamp for Ottawa, while Alex Auld allowed three goals on 31 shots in defeat.

The Senators are 3-4-1 as the visitor this year and have lost four straight away from Scotiabank Place.

Ottawa has had great success against the Rangers in recent years, winning six of seven, eight of 10 and 16 of the last 20 meetings between the clubs. The Sens have also won five straight and six of seven in the Big Apple.