Center Derek Stepan scored a goal and assisted on two to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-2 triumph against the Senators in Ottawa. Both of Stepan's assists led to goals by the red-hot Marian Gaborik, who notched his eighth and ninth goals of the season. Stepan's goal was his third of the season and his assists were his sixth and seventh. Stepan's fantasy value is increasing rapidly, and Rangers coach John Tortorella recently said Stepan would see an increase in ice time because of his playmaking ability. The Senators opened and closed the scoring, with Milan Michalek notching his 10th of the season and Nick Foligno recording his fourth.

Rangers coach John Tortorella thinks Derek Stepan could see an increase in his ice time with the man advantage. The fact that Derek Stepan is an accomplished playmaker, like teammate Brad Richards, would make him a logical fit on any power play so it stands to reason that Tortorella is thinking along these lines. Stepan has value in deeper leagues.

Derek Stepan skated on New York's top line on Wednesday. He played alongside Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik, but coach John Tortorella said that Brandon Dubinsky would remain on the line for the time being. The Rangers don't play again until Saturday, so line combinations will likely be sorted out before then. Stay tuned.

Derek Stepan will need to dramatically improve his work on faceoffs if he wants to remain at center this season. He owned the worst winning percentage in the league among players who took more than 700 draws at 38.5 percent on 719 total. Stepan is projected to center the second line in 2011-12, but if he can't display improvement then he may be better served on the wing.