McDonagh the Rangers’ answer to Sens’ Karlsson

As a proven steady-as-arock two-way defender, it must be a little tough for New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh to hear over and over again just how dominant and dynamic Senators captain Erik Karlsson is.

Yet McDonagh has little interest in engaging in a conversation about a head-to-head battle with Karlsson.

Pressed a couple of times Wednesday on whether he’s driven to match or even outplay Karlsson, he turned the conversation into a team-oriented one.

“He’s a huge part of that team, making an impact offensively and defensively and he plays a ton of minutes,” said McDonagh. “We’ve got to make it as difficult as we can on him. Certainly with the physical aspect, but also by taking away his options, not allowing him to make the plays and passes he wants.”

McDonagh has landed a few big hits on Karlsson, but it’s all part of what he says is a deliberate team approach.

“It’s a strategy the whole team is talking about and (Karlsson) is a big key. It’s a matter of trying to make it hard for him and all of their top guys.”

Perhaps the Senators need to take a similar approach to McDonagh. His strengths are more subtle than Karlsson’s, but it’s hard to overstate his value to the Rangers. The comparisons are intriguing. In the first three games of the series, McDonagh has played 89:36, has one goal and two assists, has 12 blocked shots and 17 hits, including 11 in the Game 2 doubleovertime victory by the Senators.

Karlsson has played 90:08, has one goal and one assist, has blocked six shots and delivered three hits.

“(McDonagh) is one of the best defencemen in the league,” said the Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey. “Karlsson is obviously world class offensively, but Ryan, just with his skating ability and how strong he is, he’s one of the best defenders I’ve seen. His ability to separate defenders from the puck and then lead the attack the other way has been great asset for our team. He’s such an explosive skater.”